honestly, I don't know.

I always thought I had it all my life (or if not, bits of it), the only thing I know for sure is that I had at least 1 manic episode before my actual diagnoses

it's really hard to say a time scale- not knowing if you had it before you had it... if you know what I mean.

question: if you suspected someone was suffering from bipolar (or any other mental illness), would you tell them, and if so, how would you aproach the subject?