I did without meds for 35 years after my first depressive episode (except for a brief period on citalopram to pull me out of blackness once).
But what started as a volatile temperament (we thought) and a very unpredictable class clown has grown into a chaotic spiral of social destruction and inability to work. I hate the stupifying effects of antipsychotics, but I am crying out for some way to get this terrifying mania under control.

While I hear you on the idea of staying off drugs as long as possible, there is a school of thought that argues the prognosis is far worse for people delaying treatment.