Why does bipolar equal evil?

I have to watch tv during the time I take my meds. The distraction helps me swallow all those pills. Tonight I watched an episode of Roseanne that I really didn't need to see. But I became fascinated and wanted to see an ending that I hoped would counter what they did.

Throughout Roseanne the husband's mother is described multiple times as having psychiatric problems and having a history of hospitalization. It sounds like depression much of the time. During the end of the show she is hospitalized in a fancy hospital that promises a cure.

On this episode she shows up in the middle of the night after being released from the hospital. From the beginning her behavior is bizarre and she is trying to kill her son. She's shown having hallucinations about his glee at committing her (which of course family members can't even do to one another). The doctor gives the usual "She'll be fine as long as she takes her meds" speech, which of course means in tvland "otherwise she'll be "psycho"". The names of her meds are listed so that anyone who knows these things realizes that she is bipolar. Through the show she becomes increasingly evil. She is shown cheeking her meds. Ultimately she makes several attempts on her son's life, then declares her intention to bury him alive.

Why does mental illness in families have to be portrayed this way? I realize I take this personally, but this just isn't that funny. Or it could be funny without including the portrayl of bipolar or schizophrenia.

Probably 200 of the approximately 300 patients I work with have significant mental illness (ie, bipolar, schizophrenia, personality disorders, or very severe depression). Most have bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. And there are a few of them who are not really people you want to hang out with. But they are a tiny minority and there are a tiny minority of any group of people I don't want to spend time with. Mental illness does not make people bad. It does not make people do evil things. The nature of mankind leads to these things.

So why do I feel so bad?