I have bipolar II. I understand that the majority of people tend to be misinformed about mental health issues in general. So it is both saddening and misleading when people say things about it just off the top of their heads. Mental health is extremely complicated. Psychiatry (and medicine in general) is not an exact science. So those of us who do deal with mental disorders, and the like, ought to take every opportunity to educate and enlighten, otherwise the stereotypes and misunderstandings about us will never end. Basic information like the differences between bipolar I and bipolar II. Since my own diagnosis I have learned so much that I would never have known had I not been confronted with bipolar head-on. The most important thing for people to understand is that each individual is different and although there are similarities which allow us to be labelled as bipolar, there is still a huge grey area where each individual simply has to figure out the treatment that best works for them. Unfortunately, drugs and alcohol come into play in the form of self-medication, especially when one does not know what they are dealing with yet and this further complicates issues. In the height a manic episode one might think it a marvellous idea to undergo plastic surgery and then live to regret it later when the mania subsides. Maybe that is what happened with Lark. We cannot know. We also cannot know for how long her episodes last, or how intense they are. And we should not pass judgment on her. Bipolar is a very serious and scary illness, all the more so because of all the unknowns. A childhood friend whom I later discovered was bipolar committed suicide not long ago. I respect the struggle she went through, I understand the pain and confusion, and the intense and total despair that led her to end her life. It is very difficult for people who have never been on either extreme (depression or mania) to grasp what it is that people with bipolar contend with. Depression is not synonymous to sadness, and manis is not synonymous to happiness. While I can understand the ignorance that prevails, it doesn’t give anyone license to talk about it as if they know. I wish people would ask more questions instead of making conclusions based on mere and inaccurate notions.