I posted something on another thread a while ago alluding to this, but I'm curious as to what you guys think.

As I stated before, I strongly believe that although we have Bipolar Disorder, we also suffer from deep sadness as well as elation, without them being part of Bipolar episodes.

Part of distinguishing these, is to be aware of one's 'normal,' or, in other words, when we're experiencing some sort of distress or intense feelings (high or low) that are not episodes, that are part of the ups and downs we actually share with people who do not have Bipolar Disorder.

So my question is this: when to let time and/or therapy do their thing, using coping skills, whatever they may be for each individual, and when to change around meds?

What if you're very very distressed because you were betrayed by a friend? What if you're feeling elated because it's beautiful outside, or for no discernible reason (yes, I believe you can experience joy/elation without it being hypomania)? Really, the reasons for changes in mood, even intense changes, are practically endless. And, again, I think we share these changes, this intensity, with people who have no mental health problems at all.

I remember being very upset about something a couple of years ago (and I can't even remember right now why), and my pdoc told me, well, this is really about x, but I'm going to prescribe you zoloft anyway (a medication I continue to take, though I wonder at times if I should). Should she have prescribed it? Frankly, I suspect I could have worked through whatever was going on without it. Painful doing so? Yes. But to try to medicate away situational depression? I think, now, that that can be a fool's errand: unnecessary and ineffective at best and experiencing needless side effects at worst. And, in any case, how do you know, when you feel better, if it was the med or just the passage of time and/or therapy that helped you? Or even the placebo effect, for that matter?

Thoughts?