Hi everyone. I am not going to go into detail about my illness but have been 'diagnosed' with bipolar, whatever that means nowadays. This is the first time I have joined a forum and I'm not too familiar with the etiquette here. Just looking for real life experiences that I can relate to. I'm recently medicated- (4ish) months on lamictal and gabapentin. Have been seeing a psych for about a year now. Im close to 30 years old and Feeling pretty lost still. Wondering if anyone here can discuss what their depression and 'manic' episodes are like and how you find realistic ways to cope. I'm very successful in my career and have two great kids (7 and 4) but since I was diagnosed I feel like things are worse than ever and I'm not sure if this is all in my head. Thanks for the input!