I was diagnosed with bipolar II while I was away at college this last year. I have a few questions, in general, about the disorder.

1. I read online that episodes can happen out of the blue with no trigger. Is that the case all of the time? Or just some of the time (and sometimes there is something happening in your life that triggers a manic or depressive episode)?

2. How do you know if you entering a phase of mania or hypomania? I've been realizing that I don't realize that i was hypomanic until the episode ends. How have you learned to recognize the signs? And does it help you during the episode to know that it was coming (or can you avoid the episode all together)?

3. Has anyone chosen to go without medication? If so, how do you manage your symptoms? Also - if you were on medication and chose to go off medication, how did you know that it wasn't that you felt ok because you were in a stable state between cycles?