I've been asked this question a lot by non-bipolar people, namely at the last job I had where I disclosed my mental illness as I went on extended medical leave.
The most concise way I have found to explain it is to relate it metaphorically to something else. I used the rollercoaster analogy (creative, I know). You're on a rollercoaster, which is supposed to be a normal, fun activity that people do. People can get off once the ride is done and go about their normal lives.
Not us. We afflicted with Bipolar have the seat restraint permanently clamped down; we cannot disembark no matter how hard we try. The roller coaster starts again, and we get frustrated or angry. Sometimes the coaster speeds up terrifyingly fast and it's over and we are sick with the frenzied motion. Other times, it goes the pace of snail, and we get suck upside down and our faces turn purple. Over time, we might recognize cues that show us how the ride is going to be, and we can prepare for it. Sometimes there is no warning. It's uncomfortable a lot of the time, sometimes exhilarating, sometimes exhausting. Screaming does nothing, fighting it does nothing, you are just stuck there over and over and over.
Perhaps that is why suicide is so prevalent among people with bipolar. There is no way off the coaster. We are stuck and cannot get out on this earthly plane. The best we can do is take advantage of medicine, live as healthily as we can, and go on, day by day.
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