I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after going to group therapy for my complaint about depression and anxiety, especially anxiety. I guess the group therapy was my first support, but I hated group therapy, and quit it soon after I started to get manic. As for peer-led support groups, I think my first long-term support came from a DBSA meeting (Depression & Bipolar Support Alliance) I went to in person. I recommend them, especially just after you get diagnosed. It has the advantages of being with people face-to-face, and the disadvantages, too.

Somewhere in the middle of my time at DBSA meetings I did find online bipolar support on sites like MDJ Junction and Mood Garden. At the time, both were very popular. They were my favorite sites and I felt very much part of the communities. Unfortunately, both (especially Mood Garden) lost a lot of members and the environment changed for the worse. I had discovered PsychCentral years ago, too. You can see that I've been a member here for over 5 years, though I forgot about it for a long time since I was mostly into the other two sites I mentioned. I also visited a couple other groups, like the DBSA online group, but I left them because some members were bullies or just unbearable.

Now I find PsychCentral to be busier and more supportive than the other two sites I used to frequent. I like it here. I also visit a bipolar subreddit. That is sort of very different from traditional online bipolar support groups. You can find support there, but it is primarily a place for fun/humorous stuff, memes, creative posts, and the like.

I chose NOT to participate in any bipolar related Facebook pages, and I never posted anything about my bipolar on my Facebook page. Even when I created my Wordpress blog, I did not link it to social media like most people do. I invited only who I wanted from my life to my blog. I have connected with many other bipolar bloggers, but also many people without bipolar disorder that support me in writing about all kinds of things.