As someone who has managed bi-polar disorder (cyclothymia/hypomania) since my teenage years (and has never missed a single workday due to anything but the flu--maybe 5 days total in 35 years), I can safely say this is a very stupid question.
I think the author meant well, but bi-polars do not have bad moods any more than the general population. When a full-blown bi-polar has (as many do) a psychotic episode, they usually end up in the hospital or the morgue or jail. And in the midst of the depression swing, it is certainly not a single day of bad mood.
Mental illness is not a joke and references to bad moods trivializes just how life threatening it can be.
BTW, in many cases, bi-polar illness doesn't have to prevent a successful career, education, marriage, or life (in fact, many bi-polars are at the top of their college class and at the top of their profession). But it does require tremendous drive and determination to manage successfully.
Bravo, from a shrink.
Managed skillfully, it is true that many with Biploar Disorder can have very full, rich and meaningful lives, both in terms of careers and stable relationships.
It is also true that there are a number of forms and manifestations of the disorder in addition to the classic illness, and that at the periphery of this constellation of disorders there is a great deal of over-diagnosis.
In addition, it is true that many people with minor mood problems of one sort or another use it too often as an excuse to skip work. Such folks get little sympathy or support from me if they are my patients. I believe, especially for people with mild to moderate levels of depression, that getting up and going to work and taking care of other responsibilities - whether they “feel like it” or not - is highly therapeutic.
I applaud you, sir.