Interesting thread, Sarah. Personally, I believe bipolar disorder is an as yet ill-understood electrochemical, neuroendocrine, and anatomic disorder of the human brain. Some are more severely affected than others. There is as of 2020, no known cure, though a very small percentage of patients may enter long-term remission. Some of these people may do well absent meds.

For the rest of us, symptoms may be out of control sans meds, more constantly for some, less frequently for others. For me, positive thinking and yoga and mind over matter are all terrific and useful, but they will not address the problem of thinking I am Jesus or the president or that infrared cameras are in my walls. Those kinds of symptoms are way beyond positive thinking in me. But it would be lovely if that were not the case, on that, I do agree.