Janise, bipolar disorder is like just about every chronic illness. It disables some people, but lots of people just take their medicine, pay attention to some other health management issues, and get on with their lives. And how successfully we get on with our lives often depends on how well we care for ourselves.

I often compare our situation to that of two friends in their 40s with diabetes. One, who has managed her diabetes well, doesn't have any major limits on her life. She watches what she eats, has to test up to 14 times a day, and it is true: some weeks she's so tired by the end of the day that she just comes home from work, sits down, and writes letters all night. But she holds a management job in one of the country's best companies and has a great marriage.

The other, who hasn't managed her diabetes well at all, drinks sugary beverages all day, keeps a candy dish on her desk, and is beginning to have damage to her feet that is limiting her ability to walk. She holds a lower level job in a not-so-great firm, where she ended up after a layoff in a better company; her marriage is great but her family is financially very stressed.

All that just to say: People with chronic illnesses can make good choices or bad ones. It's not always the illness that decides whether you're disabled.

For us with bipolar: We have to take our medicines; regularity in sleeping and rising is really, really important; we may want to self-monitor daily with a Sachs chart at least until we're stable on our medications; specific medications may require dietary modifications (the antidepressant I take comes with a long list of foods I can't eat); exercise is a good mood stabilizer (although I'm still too much of a couch potato!). And the outcome can be: good jobs; great marriages; happy lives.

Now after all this pep talk, I'm going to give you the "bad news". Most people get stable relatively fast. Almost everyone gets stable within three years. For me, it took seven years. That sounds like bad news, because it suggests that it could take a really long time to get the meds right. But it's almost unheard of for it to take that long. I just want to let you know that even if it seems to be taking forever, keep going. Because that doesn't mean you're not going to get stable; it just means you've got one of the more challenging chemistries your doctor has encountered. Our brains are very complex, very unique. And that's one of the very wonderful things about us. But it means they're not the easiest things in our body to heal. So be patient; be persistent; and keep plugging. It will be worth it!

All blessings,

The Lady Behind the Mask