The little depression I experienced during my manic-depression was not like depression as anyone else had ever described it. It was very violent and angry, and I was full of rage. I wasn't lying in bed.

Most nights, I’m good for only four or five hours of sleep. That leaves the other 20. I have to fill them some way.

As no one knew much about my mental illness, a lot of people had the attitude that I had the capability to ‘kick it’ and get better instantly. This was the most frustrating attitude for me.

When I’m manic, I’m so awake and alert, that my eyelashes fluttering on the pillow sound like thunder.

Weekly $25,000 shopping binges at Barney's and "high end" boutiques for clothes I barely wore were the norm. So were lavish meals with friends where I picked up $1000 tabs. These high-priced activities were within my limits because I was extremely successful financially, a testament to my manic behavior, not to mention my involvement in illegal activities.

When I'm manic, I'm so awake and alert, that my eyelashes fluttering on the pillow sound like thunder.

The little depression I experienced during my manic-depression was not like depression as anyone else had ever described it. It was very violent and angry, and I was full of rage. I wasnt lying in bed.

Like most manic depressives, some of my symptoms included racing thoughts that I simply had to act upon - flying from New York to Paris and taking the train to Berlin; flying to Argentina in the middle of the night; spending tens of thousands of dollars on unnecessary garments, dinners and gifts.

I think, when it comes to psychiatry, that a lot of people are overmedicated. I think when it comes to ECT a lot of people go through too much. I think there's a lot of guesswork in psychiatry.

People accuse me of glamorizing mental illness. Looking back sometimes, that's true. But I don't feel guilty.