The first thing I showed definitive symptoms of was trichotillomania. It started when I was starting to have stressful family and school life - between second and third grade. Probably not coincidentally, it was around the same time that my mother got diagnosed as bipolar and then never saw that pdoc again. One day I was looking in the mirror in my room and suddenly had the urge to pull out my eyelashes, and before I realized it I barely had any left.

Looking back, I can see symptoms of bipolar pretty far back in my childhood, but no one thought to test me for anything because despite being a bit capricious, I was doing great in school (though I had so much trouble completing homework a lot of time, simply because I lacked the focus or energy, but that always got chalked up to me slacking off). It only started to get really noticeable, but only for the depressive symptoms, while I was in high school.