Welcome, Valcingetorix5150, and thank you for sharing a bit of your story!

I'm pretty sure my bipolar disorder started showing itself at at least 14 years old. Maybe earlier, but then again I was even pretty intense at times even as a smaller kid. I even remember brief periods of minor depression as a kid.

The first time I received any recognition of mental health issues was at 15 years old. I was prescribed Buspar (buspirone) by a family doctor. At university was when it worsened enough that I was referred to a psychiatrist. The university psychiatrist prescribed Prozac, which was kinda in style at the time. For my ages 20 through 31, I would seek help mostly when depressed or in a mixed state. Docs would give me an antidepressant. I would very rapidly "switch" to some level of manic and quit the antidepressant. I was also hypomanic or even full blown manic throughout that time. Seemed even more so on the manic end than depressed. I experienced ramifications from those episodes, for sure.

I was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 31 years old. The pdoc wanted to put me on a moodstabilizer, but I refused, as I was hypomanic at the time. A year later all hell broke loose. My mother had died prematurely and my hypomanic/manic behavior at work caught up with me. I was almost fired. Six people went to Human Resources to complain about me. On that day, I resigned in retaliation, then drove home on the verge of deliberately driving into a tree. My husband got me an emergency pdoc appointment and I was hospitalized for the first time. Over a 3 1/2 year period I was mostly manic sometimes with psychosis, but depressed at times, also once with depressive psychosis. I had 10 psych hospitalizations and 12 Intensive Outpatient stints. Then I went on disability. I've been on disability since. At times during that I had a few manias, plenty of hypomanias, and the longest probably worst depressions of my life. During one mania several (6 ?) policeman came to my house because I called 911 screaming. They thought there might have been a murder. Other traumatic events from my manias also happened. Plus I drank heavily, at times. I had bouts of other mental health issues that were born from my bipolar traumas. Long list, but they eased then disappeared. But my bipolar is still there, probably "waiting" for a new trigger.

I have been doing comparatively good for the last four years. I attribute that to my very low stress situation and routine. Plus I've taken my medications (finally a good mix) religiously.