A friend of mine who led a bipolar support group pulled me aside one day and described my experiences. Then he told me what Bipolar disorder was. I was shocked. So much just slotted into place. I had to do a complete rethink about what my life had been about. It was only about 2 years later that I saw a psychologist for help with depression and discovered that I had been turning a blind eye to much of my troubles despite having been told about bipolar. I was referred to a psychiatrist who wanted to treat me for depression before concluding it was bipolar. The Prozac he prescribed put me into a severe mixed episode and 19 months later I still haven't recovered to my pre-treatment level of functionality.

Just be very careful with taking antidepressants on their own if you suspect bipolar. Any hint of euphoria or wild mood swings, and you need to get that psychiatrist to deal with the issue immediately in order to avoid being launched into an irreversible and severe condition.