For Y/N, life has often felt like a series of extreme peaks and exhausting valleys. The onset of bipolar disorder wasn’t just a medical shift; it was a wrecking ball to their social foundations. During manic episodes, their intensity and impulsivity pushed friends away; during the depressive lows, the isolation became a self-fulfilling prophecy. One by one, childhood friends and family members drifted to the periphery, unable or unwilling to navigate the unpredictability of the condition.