My brain doesn't work depressed or manic haha
My handwriting has changed too, but I attribute that to A) texting and B) meds
Plus the faster my thoughts go, the more difficult it is to keep up writing.
I don't ever feel stupid. That seems to be the one area where I have real
self compassion (or maybe I'm just so depressed I don't give a crap).
I become more pensive so that helps with some of my reduced brain power because
I think everything just about to death.
When manic, every thought that flies through my head is THE GREATEST IDEA EVER
so there's not too much thought going on. So far I've been fortunate enough to not
act on the real big ideas....

Cut yourself some slack. You and your brain are dealing with a lot.