On the day of my initial diagnosis? I think so, Beth. I believe I had been taking Lexapro, but I quit it that day, just as I quit that psychiatrist and his group therapy. That psychiatrist witnessed my growing mania in a group therapy session. At the end of that session, he tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to stay after. That's when he told me I had bipolar disorder and wanted to change my med from the Lexapro to a moodstabilizer. I refused the new med. I wouldn't say that day was hard for me. I barely even thought much about it afterwards. I didn't even say anything about the dx to my husband.

The HR situation was a year after the dx. I hadn't been taking any medications during that almost year interim before my first hospitalization. I basically became more and more manic that year. I was plenty manic (and abusing alcohol) even before the sudden unexpected death of my mother. My mom's death took it up to an even higher level. When HR gave me an ultimatum, they did so knowing that I had recently lost my mother. They weren't going to fire me. But I became so furious about it all, that day, that I quit the job. However, a day later I was hospitalized. My husband called my employer (the CEO/President was my boss) and asked them to ignore my resignation. They did. I was officially working there for yet another 3 1/2 years, but was mostly on private disability.