Put it this way. I had anxiety and depression for 15 years. SSRIs helped on occasion. It never crossed my mind that I could be Bipolar. I thought Bipolar people were delusional, and out of touch with reality. Well guess what?

I was diagnosed with Bipolar this year, at 45 years old. My pdoc says a "very mild case". After starting BP meds, I realized I havent' felt this "normal" in my whole life.

There is a HUGE spectrum of Bipolars, like there is a big spectrum of Aspergers. My son is super high functioning Aspergers...some kids with it are way worse off than him