For me, it's a matter of realizing that psychological pain is worse that physical pain (within reasonable limits, that is). When I'm feeling stable it's easy to forget this. I inflict a lot of pain on myself & others when I am unmedicated. I don't want to go there ever again. I also have to remember that those hypomanic periods I enjoy so much also put me in danger. While many psychotropics have side-effects, working with your pdoc to find the "lesser of evils" is the best way to go.