Aren't we all somewhere on the spectrum of disease?
This is a really dangerous and misleading way to look at bipolar.<p>The disease proper of bipolar disorder is progressive and degenerative. This progression is accompanied by structural changes in the brain [1] as well as biological changes in the body [2].<p>If someone had the syndromes of manic or depressed symptoms in response to a medication, that does not prove either way that the person actually has the progressive and degenerative disease that can induce those syndromes spontaneously. If withdrawing the medication completely solves the problem, it simply indicates that they don&#x27;t have the disease.<p>The sentiment of &quot;we&#x27;re all a little crazy&quot; is very old, and very dangerous to go around repeating. There&#x27;s a specific threshold where things suddenly get orders of magnitude more fucked up, and anyone who has crossed this threshold will know how damaging it is to treat these diseases as if they&#x27;re just an extension of normal human experiences.<p>If you have this disease, you need to halt the degenerative process. I&#x27;ve taken my meds every single day for the last 14 years because I know what will happen if I stop. I have friends and family that went down that road, and it isn&#x27;t pretty.<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.sciencedirect.com&#x2F;science&#x2F;article&#x2F;abs&#x2F;pii&#x2F;S0006322307002338" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.sciencedirect.com&#x2F;science&#x2F;article&#x2F;abs&#x2F;pii&#x2F;S00063...</a>
[2] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.sciencedaily.com&#x2F;releases&#x2F;2016&#x2F;05&#x2F;160531104421.htm" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.sciencedaily.com&#x2F;releases&#x2F;2016&#x2F;05&#x2F;160531104421.h...</a>