Start here: http://www.bpso.org/ To quote: "The material presented on this site is intended to provide information and support to the spouses, families, friends and other loved ones of those who suffer from bipolar disorder (manic-depression). These resources have helped many of us inform ourselves, cope with behaviors that sometimes arise from the illness, better understand our own reactions, and determine how we may best support our loved ones in their efforts to understand and live with this often terrible disease."

that's tough. I have bi polar and I can tell you that if you have never been around anyone who has mood swings it will take you a while to get used to it and to understand the illness. Eventually you will be able to even "see" when his moods are changing. I can go from happy to sad in a matter of minutes. i can go from laughing to crying or from laughing to being pissed at the world for no reason in just a few minutes. He really may not remember saying it to you. People who are in depressions don't always remember what they say or do.. When he's manic, he may not remember everything he said or did. You didn't say how old he was but if he's a teen, then it may be a lot worse because the hormones are interring with his seratonin level.. A lot of people when 1st diagnosed are angry.. they feel they are being dealt a bad hand in life . and he may not understand the disease either.. You could always research bi polar or manic depression and the web will tell you a LOT that will help you... What you described is a normal mood swing..If he's on medication that should help some.. if not, convince him to get help and it will help if you could go and talk to the MD about what to do to help him.

I don't think there's any way to rationalize the problem. If you mean it, just be his friend the best way you can, but don't beat yourself about it.

There is no single answer since the behavior varies from mild mood swings to the downright bizarre. All i can say is make the decision as to where your absolute limit is as to what you can tolerate. Accept that there will be days that are worse than others. Do as much research into the subject as possible and support him to the best of your ability. Bipolar people tend to have trouble keeping friends and often feel abandoned, so do your best to let him know you are there, but don't sacrifice your sanity. i had a bipolar "friend" almost wreck my life. i tried my best to help her, but her behavior got more and more bizarre and destructive. She tried hard to hurt my friends and even tried to wreck someone's marriage through pure lies. She did everything she was not supposed to do like drugs and alcohol despite knowing she is always an incident away from being institutionalized.I tolerated a lot of it, but eventually I determined that I could not help someone who was not willing to help herself. I'm not telling you to bail on your friend, but to accept that it may come to that despite your best efforts. For the time being, there are support groups that cater to the bipolar and supporters of. i could point you to one that may be helpful but it would have to be in private because this particular one is very careful about who has access to the site to protect privacy.