Well, I had felt "off" or "different" or something like that since I was a really little girl. I always felt like something was wrong with me. I was depressed as a child, and had high anxiety, and all kinds of issues mentally and emotionally. So by the time I was 31 and got my diagnosis, it was more of "thank goodness I have a normal something that has a name and I'm not just some random freak of nature."

Finding forums has helped me learn I'm not a freak of nature, especially this forum. There are lots of people who have lots of similar issues I've had all my life. And all those people also have bipolar. It's like finding out I belonged to this huge community of people my whole life and didn't even know it. It's actually more of a relief than anything.