What does a "normal" bipolar world look like?

To the average person, bipolar doesn't exist. It may be an encounter with a person who is sad, or a person who is a bit excitable. These are the extremes that someone with bipolar experiences. There is no mask, label or name tag. There is no black and white, or gray and color. It's hazy, blurry and messy. In my experience, it's a friend, mother and brother who have issues dealing with their emotions. The in-between is the part that is their average and normal world which they live in.

I've discussed how my mother would bounce from one extreme to the other. There are a lot of in-betweens. There's days when we had company over and she'd disappear leaving me and my father to entertain company. It's been years later and she still has her depression weeks where she doesn't want anyone to know anything, she hides out and sleeps a lot. There have been situation changes that now prevent her from falling too deep into depression, including having her grandson move in full time, and my father retire and stay home as well. She also has some physical limitations now that keep her manic days under control more. Shopping was her manic, her high on life. Now shopping in stores is a necessity she completes as quick as possible to return home and rest.

My brother was a different story. It has been years since I have heard from him. I hear of him through my parents however. As he is growing older he has begun to level out more. He attempted college twice and the third time stuck, he finally found something that interests him, working on cars. He proceeded to get a certification to be a mechanic and works for himself and works for a giant company sitting behind a computer offering professional mechanics solutions to issues. He has managed to earn such a living that he is no longer dependent on government assistance. He is earning his own way throughout life now.

My friend has suffered with bipolar since he was a child. He didn't understand why he couldn't control his emotions. Why he wasn't happy like the other kids were. When he was happy why he felt even more so than the other children and he still stuck out like a sore thumb. Growing into it has helped him adjust. He struggled to find his way, attempted college twice and finally dropped out. Struggled with a love life, dated 3 women for varying lengths of time. Eventually he has found his way at 35 years old. He has 2 children now and struggles to maintain a routine for them. He hasn't been able to hold a steady job as that been a severe limitation for him.

For all 3 of the people that I know, the key to their sense of normal and happiness has been routines. There were some turbulent times, struggles with gaining an education, struggles with raising children, relationships, physical limitations and employment. The best for a person who has bipolar is to feel happy and normal, they want to be like everyone else.