Actually, say patients, bipolar disorder has its upsides

For instance, a participant the researchers call Alan (names were changed to protect privacy), said: “It’s almost as if it opens up something in the brain that isn’t otherwise there, and er I see color much more vividly than I used to. … So I think that my access to music and art are something for which I’m grateful to bipolar for enhancing. It’s almost as it’s a magnifying glass that sits between that and myself.”

In some cases, participants believed bipolar disorder had helped them achieve goals that would not have otherwise been possible. For Alan, this meant performing in comic theater: “Had it not been for being bipolar, there’s no chance I could have done it,” he said…

“I’ve been blessed haven’t I? … because I’m able to experience life in sort of what some people describe as kind of extremes, it just gives me an opportunity to feel things and experience things that I wouldn’t otherwise do, simple as that,” said a participant they call Dominic.