In the romantic comedy “Silver Linings Playbook,” Pat emerges from a mental institution and finds new love with a dark-haired loose cannon named Tiffany. Pat is bipolar, a condition that reveals itself mainly in manic episodes of aggressive optimism. He runs for miles a day in a trash bag vest to make himself “sweat more,” fixates on his ex-wife and keeps score of his life’s silver linings.

Masked by the candy-coated plot is a bittersweet message for those of us who have fought against taking medication for our mental illnesses. Some might believe that Pat gets the girl when he wins a bet for his father by scoring a mediocre 5 with an admittedly adorable dance number. But the real turning point is Pat’s decision to begin taking his medication.

Once he does, in a brief scene in his mother’s kitchen, Pat becomes less obsessed with counting silver linings, less overstimulated and more able to feel. As Tiffany continues to self-destruct, it’s newly medicated Pat who is clearheaded enough, despite his sense that the meds make him dull, to see that their friendship has become something much deeper.

I discovered I was bipolar right around the time I found the love of my life. I met Xander while still on the off-ramp of a miserably failed relationship, a broken engagement that was, while not tragic, the icing on the cake. By this point I had begun introducing myself to future boyfriends as a “serial monogamist” (they always thought I was joking).