Statistics show that most people with bipolar disorder will experience at least three times more episodes of depression than hypomania or mania. With bipolar 2, I think the ratio of depressive-to-hypomanic episodes is something like 4:1. So depression is a HUGE issue for almost all of us.

Some BPers can't take antidepressants because the drugs switch them into hypo/mania. Others need them to keep the depression at bay but tolerate only one or two particular types---for instance, I've done very well on a low dose of Celexa, but flipped right into mania on Wellbutrin. (This is, of course, in conjunction with a mood stabilizer, an anxiolytic and an antipsychotic---I need them all to maintain my equilibrium).

Fortunately, there are almost as many drug options and combinations as there are bipolar people, and while it can take a while to find the right "medication cocktail", most of us manage our lives pretty much like everyone else.....the major difference is, we have to take pills to do it. A bipolar patient who is stable can be just as successful as anyone else in work, life, love; the diagnosis doesn't have to mean the end of one's dreams and aspirations.

Wishing you the best.