Please bear with me for I am trying to set this up so that all is understood.

Had 2 major depressive episodes 20 years apart, the last being mid 2011. The last one required a 1 week stay in an inpatient psych unit followed by a 1 week intensive outpatient period. During the inpatient part, the PD didn't feel that I was bipolar but the best he could come up with during this one week period is that I had GAD - generalized anxiety disorder and was not bipolar.

After researching this term, a lot of things that I perceived I was doing did fit. I was prescribed 20mg Lexapro and then returned to work after the intensive outpatient. I feared returning to work and asked for more time in intensive, but I was told 'you have to bite the bullet'.

I did return to work and all was well for the first 4 months. Then my supervisor started confronting me with complaints from other people that I was being too aggressive and cited specific examples. I worked at this place for 6 years, nary a complaint then all of a sudden, I am getting 2 or 3 complaints a week. The complaints were incredibly petty and very subjective. Now while I will concede that I was more assertive, nothing I was doing could be considered aggressive or even hostile. I attribute this 'new' behavior to the Lexapro.

I like the way I am now. I think a lot better, seem much more organized, things that I disliked doing before I like now like cleaning house, cooking, gardening et al., I really enjoy doing now. I am much more talkative and feel comfortable in social situations where I didn't before taking the Lexapro. Before, I would think of going on a 'live' radio program but now I feel comfortable do it. I've started picking up my old hobbies again.

So, the question I have is 'am I manic' or 'am I normal'?

I wound up being 'fired' for 'unprofessional behavior'. Some of the complaints that led to my termination were so contrived and some were even lies. It had become quite apparent the my department's leadership did not want me around anymore and got the HR department to help facilitate an exit. It was the 3 strikes your out that nailed me and one of the 'strikes' was from the subjective opinions of the 6 or so people that wanted me out. There were another 200 people in the department that like me but that didn't matter.

My family did an intervention on me with my therapist which had become adversarial to the point where I was admitted, again, to an inpatient unit. I told the PD here that I didn't feel the need to be here and that I was NOT suicidal. I spent 3 days here and released with a new medication, 200mg Seroquel.

Sorry for being so long winded but that's me now. Without trying to sound conceited or sound like Sally Fields, I really like me now...

So the question again is, I have is 'am I manic' or 'am I normal'?