speaking from personal experience YES it gets better. I would consider it a circle. That implies you end up back where you started. If it's a roller coaster the highs and lows have damped out so they aren't so extreme....
again my personal experience. I worked my backside off in therapy. I finally gave in and tried medication. Therapy gave me the tools to deal with my problems. It also too working with my pdoc to find the right combination of meds and dosage to help me. I still have to deal with my demons. I have better skills to manage them now.
Is my life perfect? Heck no! Do I still have low times, thoughts of self harm etc? Yes, but I now have the tools to deal them. Now if I start feeling down (without reason), thoughts of self harm etc I take it as a sign I need to reassess and figure out what I need to do differently or what I need to change in my life.