Hi everyone.

I am very high functioning and have always been so. I guess I am very lucky, since after my breakdown I managed to get my personal life back on track, find another job and continue my education.

At this point, 3 years after my manic episode, I am doing very well. So well in fact that I got off my lithium in June ( pdoc Ok'ed) and I just don't see any difference in my mood or daily functioning.

I am not sure if this means that I am really not that bipolar My mania was med induced, after all, and it never happened before. I only had two major depressive episodes in my life, 10 years apart, situationally triggered and pretty mild (not sui, not disabled, still functional).

All this, and reading other people's stories bring me to this question: Is the fact that the person is high functioning indicative of his relatively mild case of bipolar, or is just the result of the favorable life situation and effective treatment?