The disparaging statements made about Kanye West and his medical conditions have troubled me. I understand there may be reasons not to like what Kanye had to say, but this is about mental health.

Simply stated, I have bipolar disorder. Thankfully, the grace of God, doctors, medication, and activity management have enabled me to see good in life. No matter what my condition may bring, I will not cease to have relevant meaning. To discount anyone due to their condition, not taking into account their ideas is to deprive yourself of the potential benefits those ideas might bring. When you act in a way that diminishes another you injure yourself as well as society as a whole.

Every time there is a shooting, we hear the call for gun control and treatment for the mentally ill. Any real solution to the issue of mental illness must go beyond identification, medication, and medical treatment. The solution must include society seeing those with medical conditions as humans of import and not “wacko-crazy” to be avoided.

Individual bipolar disorder symptoms and degrees of severity vary. Here is a list of some common obstacles.

When I consider what life would be like if I had bipolar disorder without the grace of God, I shudder. But isn’t that the same for all of us, no matter the state of our mental health?

What helps and what exacerbates?