Take my friend Jerome, hired one summer to drive a van full of rich and annoying European teenagers across the country. I didn't hear Sara's story until later, but it didn't have many funny parts.

She could recount every failed Everest expedition in mesmerizing detail -- the sort of a talent I would expect of a rock climber, not someone who'd never gone camping. Then I found out."There's something you should know about me," she said, a couple of hours into the date. I tried to remember if I'd sipped from her drink."I'm bipolar," she said."Good," I replied.You find yourself unsure about whether or not your courtship should continue. As someone with bipolar disorder, I am here to tell you what you need to know about dating someone like me, so you that can keep developing a relationship with this wonderful guy.1.People Who Are Bipolar Are, For The Most Part, Just Like Everyone Else OK, so we go to therapy and take medications every day, but so do half of the people in New York City.So say what you mean and how you feel, and we’ll figure out how to react.Chances are, we either know how to handle it, or we are working on it.3.BIPOLAR & THE HOSPITAL Being hospitalized for a bipolar mood episode — and readjusting afterward — can be difficult.What have you learned that might help someone else facing hospitalization? I am, to be blunt and concise, in love only with myself, my puny being with its small inadequate breasts and meager, thin talents.One of the hallmark symptoms of a narcissist is her inability to perceive others as people with needs of their own.If you are currently dating someone with bipolar disorder, you may struggle with a number of challenges like how you can support him or her while still caring for yourself.Here are some real life tidbits on dating a person with bipolar disorder: Knowledge is power, so learn as much as you can about your partner's disease.From a distance, I'd seen how much energy it took Nyla to keep her episodes under control: weekly doctor's visits, blood tests, complicated regimens of medications.And yet for all their problems, my bipolar buddies had always kept things interesting.That being said, to a large degree, a person's bipolar disorder contributes significantly to their behavior, personality, and relationships.With that, you do have to learn to love the whole package, so to speak.