Not feeling better after finishing programs, IP, etc?

I mean, if they discharge you that should mean you're at least somewhat better, right?

I got out of IP a little over a month ago, finished a program for dual diagnosis a couple days ago, and I have been using the "skills" I "learned"
makes me wonder if I'll ever get better. I know it takes time but, idk, I've been IP so many times and been through so many programs I just feel like I'm broken forever.

What am I missing? It wasn't even better during long periods of sobriety so it's not like I have hope that in x amount of clean days I'll be better bipolar wise, or hope that somehow I'll be stable and not want to use.

...don't even "qualify" for a manic, mixed, or depressive episode based on DSM, just struggling every day for what seems like forever.

I am told that those kinds of tools must be practiced several times per day, every day, including before bedtime. Apparently it's a reprogramming of the brain and takes consistent practice and persistence in order to reroute the brain's old thinking patterns.

The DSM-V is an archetype written by humans. It is flawed and inaccurate. A conversation-starter, nothing more.

I have in utero-onset bipolar-schizophrenia illness of uncertain nature. Used substances to attempt to stabilize my shifting reality. What I have learned over 5 decades of doing this and more than 6 yrs in the hospital overall is that brains like ours are basically 12-cylinder Lamborghinis. When properly maintained and tuned, you might get Van Gogh or Einstein. But use the wrong oil, it could be a Heath Ledger situation, God rest his talented soul.

Trying to attain any stability or homeostasis while pouring external substance on your receptors will never occur. Fact. Lose everything but your meds. Exercise.
Yoga. Meditate daily. Connect with God however you are able to. For the past 15 yrs., my brain has been so sick that the spirituality centers were just barely even there. Hanging by a thread. But even psychotic and unstable, I always knew in the rebar of my soul that God loved me. I just figured He was pissed and grounding me for like, being a pompous, self-important jerk. Recently, med changes have turned the broken parts of my brain where core beliefs and values connect up with the emotion centers and now, today, anyhow, I can feel, actually FEEL the incredible, unending love I have for God because I am not relegated to using 43 percent of my brain's capacity.

So, do find God, whatever that is for you. He loves you, even when he seems to disappear. He is a complex being.

Hugs and love!!!

If they discharge you, if you don't feel somewhat better then I question if they are doing their job adequately. I hope you find some helpful answers (from them) Hugs!