I've been on the PC forums for nearly 5 years (first signed up with a different account at the age of in 2008) and I've seen many people disappear from the forums, people I used to speak to that I haven't heard from for a year (or more).

It's good to see that some people find themselves in such a good place that they can recover to the point of not needing PsychCentral anymore and focusing their energies on their lives. Yes it's a good place to not only receive support but also to give support but I still feel it can only be a good thing when people forget about the forums after leaving more positive posts, even though they're missed from the forums and their positive experiences would be appreciated shared to other members of the community.

My attitude towards bipolarity and the way I handle it hasn't really changed much at all. My views on mental health have only been mildly altered by the posts I've seen over a 5 year period on the forum. Even though I may not post often, I'm around a lot to check in on people. The biggest thing I've learned from these forums is that medication and therapy offered by the services available aren't the only way forward and that they aren't effective for all people. A lot of what it takes to turn bipolarity into a positive thing comes from what we do ourselves. Willpower, motivation, strength, determination and optimism. Also it's important, for those that find it useful, to not forget about spirituality...and finding peace in yourself and learning to accept bipolarity as sometime that isn't cured but more overcome.

I have absolutely no idea what the point of all that was. Just wanted to put it out there. There was one point in time that I could structure a reply to a thread in a way that could be deciphered by myself: actually make some sense. Now I just write down flurries of thoughts from my head without structuring them and do what I've just noticed I'm doing now - rambling.

Sorry.
RB.