It has been one heck of a learning curve for us, but I am hopeful. It's funny that today, bipolar is such a common thing. It's always been around, only dealt with so differently. Many people today manage it and control it pretty successfully. But, there is always that worry about the next event.

Thankfully, my son is not into the rapid cycling that Sug's friend apparently was. That had to be very freightening. But, living through a manic phase (my son's lasted for nearly a month) is about as stressfull as it can get.

Sug, was your friend manic or depressed when he overdosed? My son drinks during both phases (which is common) and I worried that he would just not answer the phone one day. Now that he is under my roof again, I try to keep healthy food in the house, he's riding his bike and roller blading a lot - he appears to be sleeping again (another thing that they don't get much of when in an episode.) But, his self esteem in still in short supply. Hopefully, he can get back to work (but will the pressures get to him again?) It's such a worry.