I, too, think it is great that she told you. Honesty is a main ingredient in a good marriage.  I am bipolar and did not know it when we married.  I will tell you, my husband has been through hell with me.  I have had awful rages and irritability which have been unfairly blamed on him.  I would advise that you go to a bipolar support group.  You can google NIMH (national institute of mental health) and ask them to give you an address of a group in your area that meets.  I would strongly advise that you go because it helps you, someone without bipolar, to understand the illness and the triggers.  It also gives you some tips on keeping your spouse well.  A regular sleep cycle is so important, for example.  Keeping stress to a minimum.  Bipolar should be called a stress-disorder, I think!  Have you seen any behaviors in your girlfriend that are out of the ordinary as of yet?  I hope this did not scare you; it sounds scary, but bipolar can be controlled, not cured.  I think the most important thing you can do is to find out as much as you can about the illness, and go to support groups to find out what you can do to help control her triggers. I think couples who work as a team benefit the most.  Team work is so important and medication, helps.  A great book that tells about symptoms that you ordinarily don't read about is:  Breaking the Bipolar Cycle.  Biplar people, by the way, are very loving, compassionate, sensitive and creative people.  My husband and I now work together to keep my symptoms at bay.I hope this helps. You can have a happy relationship with a bipolar but it pays to do your homework to make it smoothly work.  RAKU

George

Kudos to both of you. Her for telling, and you for not running.It must have been as hard for you to hear as it was for her to tell. We don't give up that part of us easily, and she must have sensed you would be understanding, or at least not judgmental.As a person with this illness I can tell you, it will depend some what on whether she accepts the illness, takes her meds and takes care of herself, and sometimes that doesn't mean she will be able  always to cope.Most of my male relationships are great the first few weeks and I believe that falling in love is a natural high and of course we are on our best behaviour( even the so called normal people)but add a little time and some stressors and you could be left wondering what the heck just ran you over and did anyone get the plate number. Ask her what she needs, and don't be surprised when it doesn't work.I believe we are people of extremes,you zig she'll zag, you flip and she'll flop, and that can be exhausting. While you are still stinging from the last outburst, two hours later she may be planning a an exotic vacation, or a new business adventure, neither of which she can afford.I can only tell you how I am, as I don't know your lady, but we all have some of the same traits and some are not all doom and gloom. We can be exciting vibrant people,poets, writers, or inventors with great talents if we can only get our minds to quiet long enough to put two thoughts to-gether.Good-luck and feel free to ask away, it's great to hear from the other side. Bella