I want to talk about bipolar and spirituality! does anyone else feel that mania is a tool we can use to tap into different realities or states and connect directly to the universe? it's like a concentrated energetic flow state for me where I honestly learn a lot. people often dismiss the things I learn from those experiences as delusions because it's connected to mental illness but for me it's real. these flow states that are conducted by mania, help me create art and tap into knowledge that I never would if I wasn't manic. I know that mania can also be be harmful but when balanced, I think it's a real gift. this next view can be harder to understand but I also think that depression is a spiritual gift. while depression is all consuming and I often think it's going to kill me, it also teaches me about the world's suffering and connects me to humanity. depression is my brain sounding the alarm that something is wrong in the world (like oppression and capitalism) and my brain (because it has been conditioned by society) often confuses the signals and tells me there is something wrong with me. bipolar is a part of the diversity of life and the fact that I can move between these different states is beautiful to me. depression shows me the flaws and mania shows me the perfection. isn't that magical? I can see the full range of life! whereas people who don't have bipolar seem to mostly be trapped in only one reality... what do others think about this?