On of my best friends is a substance abuse counselor, and she told me on our recent fishing trip something that really caught me off guard. First she doesn't think I'm bipolar, but then she has never seen me manic. (Thank God! ) And secondly that diagnoses in the mental health field are a matter of opinion. She went on to explain, that most of the diagnoses made are based on self reports by patients. However, in my case, my pdoc at the time, treating me for depression, watched me cycle 3 or 4 times w/ in 2 hours. Well, that was back in 2001, and every pdoc, and t I've seen since have all said Bipolar 1, however, they have thrown in a few others, PTSD (I kinda agree. ) and BPD maybe.

Who knows? All I know is that the therapy and the meds help me to function everyday.