Melissa...you've definitely 'hit the nail on the head' with this thread.
Your frame of mind has a substantial impact on the success of a particular treatment. If you don't believe in a treatment, it most likely will not work. Unfortunately people with bipolar rarely have a choice in which way to view a treatment. Whilst stuck in a depressive episode...we will be less willing to commit to a treatment and may have a poor outlook for the future of the success of the treatment in our individual cases.
Herein comes the purpose of medication. It plays a very important part in a treatment plan - especially when used in conjunction with a therapy (such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or Dialectical Behavioural Therapy). What their purpose is...is to at least partially improve a mood so that the patient can take part in therapy and has more willpower to commit to it - as well as increase their positivity and help them to feel as though the therapy is getting somewhere.
So yes. Frame of mind has a lot to do with it, and a combination of medication, therapy and other treatment techniques is also very important.
RB ♥