I have a few questions for those of you who were diagnosed with BD.

What state where you in when you were diagnosed? (Manic, Depressed, neither)

What prompted you to go in?

For some reason, I can't seem to make myself go in.

When I'm depressed, it's far too much work to set up an appointment with a doctor. (Heck, it takes me two weeks just to open the mail...no joke)

When I'm hypomanic, I really don't feel I need to see a doctor. Besides, I'm rarely hypomanic for more than 1-2 weeks.

The rest of the time (70% or so) I am totally "normal." I would go in, but I'm afraid s/he wouldn't believe me. I mean, I have a job, friends, etc. However, I have serious relationship issues and I'm very irritable when moody. It's turning into a problem that I need to manage better, but I just can't.

I actually went in for a mandatory physical while I was depressed, and the doctor asked me a whole host of questions related to depression. The doctor could obviously tell I was depressed (I tend to move very slowly...), but I lied to all of the questions. It was a free clinic, and I would've felt like a burden if I had admitted it. In hindsight, that was a stupid move, but I don't like to burden anyone if I'm depressed.

At the moment, I don't have health insurance, but I will soon. I'm thinking about going in and talking to a doctor about it, but it would be a pretty big step for me. I just wanted to see if you all had any advice.