(((Abe)))
Yep, been there. Still not far from it, every day.
You have certainly had a very traumatic experience, and with the prospect of this recurrent disorder possibly throwing you around again, I'm not surprised you are going through an identity and possibly life prospects rethink.

As I write that, I'm actually writing about myself.

There is a lot you can do to equip yourself to make a good life with Bipolar disorder. Yes, it does alter our paths. Yes, there will probably be rocky times ahead. But the more we get to know how to manage it, and in some cases make good use of it, the better our prospects are.

Get to know as much as you can about Bipolar and how you personally function best. There are some good books around. See the sticky thread "Bipolar Recommended Books" for some ideas. Support groups can often provide information at an experiential level that many professionals can't provide. Psychotherapists can help us work through many of the new emotional and skills issues we face. I take it you are on mood stabilising meds and will continue to take them even while stable.

I hope you manage to keep out of the BP extremes for a long time, and come to terms with good ways to remain stable and live a good life.

Peter