I've gone through a number of denial phases since I was diagnosed ~ 3 years ago. I always think I'm just in an existential crisis that will go away at some point. But for some reason they've seemed to happen in the early fall, and then I slipped into a depressive episode that showed me (again) that I really do have bipolar.

I think the denial is gone for good now, though. I spent a week in a psych unit last month and received a definitive diagnosis of Bipolar 1 with depression. Up till then I'd been characterized as "possible bipolar 1" but it wasn't firm. Not that the label makes any difference in my treatment, but it did define my illness in such a way that I can't very easily attribute it to a life crisis anymore. I guess we'll see the next time I get a wild hair up my arse and start thinking I'm cured. LOL