Manic-Depressive Illness (Bipolar Disorder)

There are phases when you can do anything. The world is wide, ideas flow freely, you barely need sleep, the energy seems endless. You talk faster, plan bigger, feel invincible. And then it tips. Without warning — or with signs you only recognise in hindsight — everything contracts. The openness becomes constriction. The energy disappears. Colours turn grey. What yesterday looked like a brilliant vision today feels like an embarrassing megalomania. You lie in the dark and wonder who that person was, three weeks ago, who wanted to conquer the world.