Were your episodes longer or shorter? How long or short?
My episodes of depression were much longer. They lasted months rather than days

Did you have mini episodes and large ones?
Mini hypomanic. Large depressive.

Was it mostly depression or mostly (hypo)manic?
Depressive.

Did you cycle within a given episode or was it pretty solidly up or down?
I had no memory of cycling. I think it was because I attributed my highs to just having a really good day.

Was it a really bad episodes that made you seek treatment, or the gradual realization?
A really bad episode led me to a therpist and to my primary care physician for meds. The pcp gave me an antidepressant which did me no good. I finally asked to see a psychiatrist and he made the diagnosis.

What effect did your undiagnosed/untreated bipolar have on your family, friends, work life, school life, etc?
I was either too tired to do anything or so irritable that I was swearing and throwing things around which was hard on my young children. I will never forgive myself for letting them see me that way. I was in a graduate program that I had to leave because I was so unstable.

Were you on antidepressants? If so, did they make you manic or did they simply poop out on you? One antidepressant made me manic. That sealed my diagnosis.