I don’t know how long it will take me.... I was diagnosed at the end of May 2020.... I’m 42 and have a psychology degree... so I knew about bipolar BUT even during my mania and the diagnosis I didn’t believe I had the illness until I came down with a severe depression at the beginning of July 2020.... I’ve tried a variety of meds but didn’t feel like anything helped so I stopped taking everything except lithium. I finally feel like my depression is over and my sleep returned. I’m going to continue taking lithium or maybe another mood stabilizer in the future but I don’t think taking multiple meds for me was the answer. I truly feel like I needed to give my brain a chance to heal after going through the mania. And that’s why my depression lasted slightly more than 6 months. I don’t know if I will ever go through it again but I am not going to lie to myself and think I’m cured. This time I have the personal knowledge to know what I’m dealing with.