My boyfriend is the main reason I stay on the meds. I think I did "okay" without them, prior to being diagnosed. I mean, I was on Effexor for my anxiety and I think I did okay with that. He, on the other hand, remembers a different Me. He has lived with unmedicated bipolar before and he has said he refuses to do that again, so if I go off my meds, he leaves. It's that simple. So, I stay on my meds.