Bipolar Community Weekly Checkin August 18-26 - How Are You Doing?

I just got diagnosed yesterday. Im 31.

Dealt with depression for years, suicide attempts, self harm, and what I now realize was hypomania. I craved those moments because it was a relief from depression and I felt like I was actually able to accomplish everything I wanted.

Then I started suspecting I had adhd, because of the distractibility, lack of focus, losing jobs from lack of performance, and all the other overlaps. The psychiatrist yesterday said it was "obvious bipolar" and that we would try vraylar for the mood and check in again in a few weeks.

I cried in the meeting when he said bipolar, and cried myself to sleep when I got home. The stigma and all that. I have so many feelings rushing through my mind.

Reading symptoms and stories from people make it obvious that my happiest moments over the past few years were just hypomania, and my depression is explained by it, my conspiratorial thinking, ego, abusing exes, hyper productivity for those days, etc. My anxiety, irritability, anger, etc.

And then after the understanding and comfort that what I had has a name, comes rage. An anger at my parents, my school counselors, previous therapists for ignoring the signs or only focusing on depression. I feel like so much of my life was wasted. So much potential lost.