I reiterate what was said above about your wife misconstruing this as a way of caring.

Might I suggest you attend a support group for bipolar or mood disorders? And I think you should take her along to the first meeting - many groups like my own encourage this. It would be really helpful for her to see how bipolar is present in and affects other people's lives. She needs to see that being mentally ill requires more than simple medication.

You asked if others experience this. YES. It is my father who seems to desperately want to be my rescuer. But what this translates to is a barrage of questions about my medication, behaviours, and present mental states. The biggest thing is that he questions every decision I make with the assumption it is the illness that is motivating it. I have decided to make some changes in my life; mainly, a return to work and possible relocation to the city where my boyfriend (of years) resides. I am thinking ahead and making myself a six month plan. I am not taking this lightly. He was adamant when I told him I was thinking of this that I must be manic and needed immediate psychiatric care. In fact, the first words out of his mouth were, "Have you been taking your meds?"