Wow

So for the past couple of days, things have been happening down here that remind me so much of home life. I recently found out that one of my good friends down here is clinically bipolar. I wasn't especially shocked. I'd known something was up this whole time, in all honesty I felt relieved to hear it. Here's the problem: she's been shirking her meds. That story is all-too-familiar. She doesn't think she needs it...and the past week or so has been full of major ups and downs and Class A freakouts. I can feel myself becoming more and more filled with animosity, against my personal feelings, because everytime I'm around her now, I think of my dad. I haven't really been able to fully open up to anyone, ever, about what my life has been like growing up in the household that I have. Don't get me wrong, I love my parents, they have given me so much and I know that I owe all of my success in life to them...but I did not have the easiest childhood. Especially my first few years of high school when Dad decided to go off his meds for a long period of time, and when I was younger before he started taking them. You aren't supposed to be afraid of your father, but I was. He never got physical in high school as far as I can recall, but it was the yelling and the verbal insults that got to me. A big reason why I'm so paranoid and so unwilling to allow people to stay mad at me is because I've grown to be afraid of anger. It's completely terrifying to me. To this day, the rest of my family will not acknowledge how bad it was...mainly because they were never there when it happened. Enough about that though...back on subject. I don't want to intrude on this girl's life but for the sake of our friendship (I love her to death), I wish that she would take her meds. I have no power over her, I don't want that, but I want her to see how important it is to take them. Whether you want to be or not, you become dependent on that stuff to keep you stable and without it, everything gets thrown out of whack. I have two options here: I can walk and let it go, or I can try to talk to her in a way that won't offend her but that will get the job done, all the while proving that I care about her. I don't know what to do...I'm going to let this sit for a while and let my stupid mental complex go away...yeah, things will be better then.