I completely agree with you. I don't believe you can just wish BD away, and like you I do get offended when people pretend that you can. That sort of stuff promotes stigma and validates the general public's opinion that people with mental illness are "weak", in my opinion.

It reminds me of that movie "A Beautiful Mind" about that mathematician (John Nash) who struggles with schizophrenia. It's a good movie, but in the end he manages to overcome his schizophrenia by sort of "out thinking" it, and it's such a shame because it just propagates this notion that people with mental illness have themselves to blame for not trying hard enough.

For me the genetic component and my family history of BD is actually sort of helpful in the sense that it makes it more tangible, and therefore it's easier to accept that I have the illness and need medication. Which is not to say that I don't strive to keep meds to a minimum, of course.