Thanks Claire. Yes, I get your point - something could be meaningful without a person having much agency in it.

It's not just about whether it's helpful for the people on a manic comedown to apologise, it's also about 'is it helpful for their loved ones?'

I feel survivor psychotherapy focuses very much on the 'lived experience' of the person - which is super important and has been historically ignored - but sometimes that loses the impact on the people around them.

Mental illness is a negotiation between a person, their subconscious, and their society....I guess that's what I mean. I dont think its feasible just to say 'whatever the person is going through is OK', when their behaviour may not be OK.

Excuse me talking about my own family on your article, but I think its a helpful conversation for people reading this, because bipolar disorder never just happens to a person, it happens to a family.