It's somewhat unusual to diagnose an eighteen year-old for a major mental illness because the personality is still changing and growing during the teen years. It's very possible that whatever you had at 18 materialized into Bipolar I as you grew older.

Be encouraged; there are many excellent medications now to treat bipolar I, and you may even find yourself later in life as a bipolar II, a much less severe form of the illness that does not have the psychotic features of Bipolar I when it is severe.

You have been given a smart psychiatrist this time. It's obvious from the prescribed medications that the doctor really is trying to look out for you well. Lithium, for example, is better taken in divided doses as your doctor has prescribed than it is at
one single dose per day.

Take care and good wishes. You will have some adjustment to make taking the medications, but they are designed to help you through difficult times if they occur.

Be more careful about your diet, as well. Keep your foods slightly more alkaline than
acidic in digestion. (See Alkaline Foods.com to see which are good ones.) The good diet thing has to do with keeping the fluids and tissues of your system saturated with alkaline fluids rather so much acid in fluids. Talk to your doctor about that, please. I'm not talking about the whole body system; that has a static state
that doesn't change except in minuscule ways. The fluids and tissues are another thing entirely.

Try to keep your life filled with as little stress as possible.

Good wishes,

Genetic