In my case, I went untreated for so long, that I just thought that periods of mania were me recovering from feeling depressed. It seemed to have no rhyme or reason to it, so I went from job to job, apartment to apartment thinking that if I changed my environmentand found the perfect sweet spot of balance between work and home that I would finally be happy.

Finally I went seeking help and from listening to my past behaviors and patterns, bipolar was put on the table. Also, OCD, Adhd, paranoid schizophrenia, borderline personality... They have all been put on the table. Right now we are working with bipolar and the meds that help with that.

It is so hard to know what the diagnosis is, and it is frustrating because I am a person who needs answers. Like others said the diagnosis is sometimes determined by which meds work the best.

I am on year two of trial and error and I am getting rather sick of it myself.