Or any other chronic illness. 

Every diagnosis comes with its share of struggles and I sympathize with that. 

However, I’m sick of hearing people say “Keep taking your meds and treat it as if it were diabetes”. I get it, but the comparison gets under my skin. 

I have immediate family members who struggle with diabetes, but I know that their symptoms are physical, not mental. It’s also easier to treat, reversible in some cases, and is rarely debilitating to the point of complete turmoil in professional and personal relationships/situations. 

The agony of having a mental illness is just so vastly different. Every move, decision and conversation I make/have has to be so calculated and I have to weigh the risks of pretty much anything I do. 

Travel? Time zones and sleep. School? Can I commit to a full course load or will it send me into mania? 
Work? What job will I have the least chance of getting fired from while also not wanting to off myself. 

I’ve had to uproot my life on multiple occasions because of destructive mania, crippling depression and stubborn psychotic symptoms. 

It just seems a little unfair to compare have bipolar to diabetes. Again, I sympathize, but in my opinion, it’s just not the same. Not even close.