I had someone tell me this evening that Bipolar is not a disorder, it's only mood swings and everyone has those.

I responded by saying: Bipolar is a medical illness.  Bipolar Disorder is NOT characterized by mood swings despite what the general population believes.  There is so much more to it, don't minimize what I have been through.

I left my response short and sweet which was best in this particular situation.

Things like that are so frustrating! They would not tell someone with cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, etc. that what they have is not an illness and everyone has some of the symptoms they're experiencing.

I know I shouldn't let things like that bother me, but I do.  A subtle reminder of how misunderstood this illness really is, is always a smack in the face!  Time to forget about it and move on- I'm not going to get anywhere by dwelling on it, but I thought I'd share.