I had an appointment with my shrink last week and ever since I've been pondering some things. I've recently been able to determine when I have "manic" episodes. Now a manic episode for me isn't what you might think of as a manic episode. I have been diagnosed as bipolar II, which means I don't have the manic episodes where I'm awake for days and think I'm god or something. My manic episodes take me up to where most people already are, but sometimes with slight delusions. By delusion I mean that a conclusion I come to, whether right or wrong, gets blown up from a molehill to a mountain. When I come down off that high, I'm back to what I consider "normal" and the mountain is back to being a molehill. I have, in the past, gotten really passionate about women's rights. I don't consider that to be making a mountain out of a molehill. I do think that women are still treated as second class citizens by at least 70% of the male population and that if you don't see it then you might be blind. But in a way, these manic episodes tend to allow me to step back and look at humans somewhat objectively. Which is hard since being a human myself (I think...) it's usually a very subjective experience. I do see very crazy patterns to human behaviour. It's kind of like communism. It's a GREAT idea. Communism is quite logical and a wonderful plan. But it won't ever work with humans. Ever. Because human nature comes out and that's where things get ugly. As a race we tend to be petty, jealous, hateful, spiteful, bad tempered, and sometimes homicidal.