I would also point out that we are an extended family of high achievers, and I suspect much of it has been driven by the "beneficial" aspects of The Condition. Let's be blunt: if one is fortunate, one has a heck of a lot of energy.

Please forgive the below: I offer these only as examples of how my extended family, even though burdened by The Condition, has also succeeded.

That is, one may bear The Condition upon one's shoulders, and yet sometimes The Condition may lift one above everything on wings of its own. It has done so for me. It has treated me well.

For other examples in my afflicted family:

My mother and her sibs all have doctorates and are professors of medicine or otherwise work in highly technical fields.

My father completed his master's in nuclear engineering and his MBA within three years from MIT.

I am an international consultant in a gruesomely technical field that, frankly, you don't want me to explain.

My cousins are bank presidents, software engineers, senior executives, pastors, and inner-city teachers.

Honestly, this sounds just so arrogant and boastful, and I apologize for that. I truly believe that we have only been able to reach these achievements due to the inherent energy that The Condition can imbue one with. Perhaps it's not hypomania, but our throttle is set on high. We've been lucky.

Nonetheless, we have also had successful suicides and multiple attempts, mortal depressions, disabling vertigo, and just jacked-up weird-*** stuff happen in our familial/emotional/bipolar lives. Our brains ain't right. My wonderful kick-*** little nephew drowned himself in a pool three feet deep. Takes some energy.

So what are we to say? The Bitter Angel both blesses and curses, and we're bound to her embrace no matter what.

What a life.