Like you said, people are different, the thing that works for one person doesn't necessarily need to be working for others. Antidepressants and other meds saved my life!
> I'm wondering how long it took you to get diagnosed as bipolar 2, and who diagnosed it - GP, psych?
I think I can remember, that I've been experiencing these mood fluctuations since I was 12 years old (7th grade in school). I have never been consulted a psychiatrist or psychologist or any form of therapy till when I was 17 years old when it went quite severe, I went psychotic with anxiety and depression when I was in high school. My parents had figured out somehow and took me to a psychiatrist. So, coming to the point, I consulted him for some 2 years and he diagnosed me as bipolar 2. And I've been on and off on medications for the next 5 years then somehow I started taking the meds continuously for the last 4 years due to too much suffering. Now I'm 27, though I wouldn't say I'm too optimistic about life and people, somehow I'm moving on with day-to-day activities and finding my joy in it now and then.
I said, medications saved my life, because through that I can be able to function on day-to-day activities. People helped and some are still helping me absolutely!
> They're always interspersed with really good days, maybe too good -- heaps of planning and ideas, unbridled optimism etc. It's hard to know what's considered to be the baseline for normal mood fluctuations.
Oh, my friend! This is the hardest part for me to understand really which is the emotional threshold and where will it lead me to. I really don't know, sorry!
I was off medication for about 5 years before another bad depressive episode occurred. I was given Zoloft and that sent me into a noticeable hypomanic episode (3 days of being awake, productive and partially agitated). I was seeing a nurse practitioner who was fantastic. Eventually we settled on lamotrigine, which I've been on for about 4-5 years with no real issues. I've had 2 minor bouts of depression in the winter since starting on it. No manic episodes. It's really a bitch of a condition to treat.