Mood stabilizers helped a lot, but I do feel they take away my creativity. I used to write a lot, get satisfaction from it, & accolades from other people in writing seminars, etc. Now I don't feel the urge to write & I miss it (my spelling ability has really gone downhill, too, as well as my ability to retain info.), but the depressions I had were awful so it's worth the tradeoff. When I'm "normal" on mood stabilizers I feel optimistic, hopeful, basically happy. I do, however, take Concerta & Provigil (stimulants) to counteract the excessive daytime sleepiness I had & I think they help me stay enthused & "up" without being manic. I recently had a long period of hypo mania despite being on stabilizers & I enjoyed it tremendously & didn't tell my doc, but I crashed really badly. She told me now if I even have 3 nights of not sleeping for more than 3-4 hours to call her & she will up the Trazadone she has prescribed for me to sleep or increase the Abilify or Lamictal.--Suzy

If you spend a good deal of time hypo manic (not full-blown mania) & can escape the deep depressions, I'd be reluctant to take stabilizers, as well. You have to consider the tradoffs & decide what is going to give you the best quality of life, with the fewest negatives.--Suzy