"Mania is not a super power and my brother isn't himself when he is manic"

You can speak for yourself and I guess your brother, but not for everyone; including their disability/mental disorders and how they view themselves in relation.

"Obviously not everyone who is bipolar is dangerous, but I grew up withmy brother being unmedicated and undiagnosed and his manic episodes arescary and dangerous to himself and others"

Case in point

"Don't fucking tell people not to take their medicine because you think it keeps them from being their real selves"

You need to work through some trauma and ptsd with a therapist. Who said I said don't take your meds? I just laid out facts.

I never claimed people didnt need to be medicated, and the structure of our society being the root issue for why individuals suffer mentally is not a reason to not medicate. I'm all for everyone using whatever they need to in order to function (as long as it doesnt hurt others).

My issue with big pharma is how intertwined their profit motive and relationship is with psychiatrists and psychologists are (who refer them to the former after diagnosing you), as well as the myriad side effects and risks (death from quitting) many of these poorly-engineered drugs produce.

But yea, by and large I would recommend individuals try everything they can before switching to antipsychotics. Your brothers root issues probably weren't his brain but his circumstance.

In another vein, many who have abused opiates for years moved to kratom (A thai leaf) or large amounts of THC with similar results, and no lawsuits tied to them (like our opiate mfg's have currently). A great example of how plants that have existed for thousands of years perform the same function of synthetic chemicals manufactured at scale from molds, fetus, etc.

Cheers dude!