Most people I regularly spend time with are aware that I'm bipolar even if they aren't in the "been there" category. This is quite deliberate. When I'm well, I do my best to explain the difficulties I have during an episode to try and avoid people feeling alienated. This is not something I can do effectively whilst ill.

The result of this seems to be that when I become unwell people in this group provide me with the best kind of support that they're equipped to give while others help me talk it out.

Unfortunately this hasn't been so easy to achieve with family members as it has with friends since they're so desperate to see me well, although things are improving. Fortunately (or unfortunately) my wife is also bipolar so I don't have that problem with her.

As to balancing talking it out vs. distraction? I rapid cycle so distraction can be very effective for dealing with short-term mood swings. If I notice that I'm distracting myself a lot then that's a sign that bigger trouble is just around the corner and is when I start to seek help. My wife and I discuss the state of our mental health very frequently so there's always a certain amount of discussion going on as well.