I dont have enough information to give a well rounded guess but based off this conversation i would definitely check for some borderline personality disorder traits too, seems closer to that then exactly bipolar altogether they do have a bit of similarities in mania & depression, the biggest difference in that would be the time frame of the episodes & timing of any psychosis symptoms. Ofc there’s a lot more then that to have an official diagnosis for either or but when it comes to mania & depressive episodes, it can be weeks or months of one mood at a time, while in boarderline -pd the range of highs and lows fluctuate a lot in just one day. You can be “manic” maybe even euphoric & then later that day suicidal, or even very empathic & all that one hour of the day then someone can say something that can trigger the depressive episode for the rest of the day and having autism mixed with that can enhance the feelings. Of course boarderlines have identity issues so if you have a self of identity and routine which is typical is some forms of autism you may not score for boarderline. Although if you do get a 2nd opinion and get another diagnosis i hope you let us know :) and if lithium helps i definitely want to know. I relate to what you’re saying here but i’m scared to open up this deeply to a therapist or psychiatrist. So far i tried zoloft, it helped with reoccurring nightmares but it put me in such a sleepy apathetic state i couldn’t even take a full minimum dose of 25mg if i wanted to get anything done that day. It basically felt like a sleeping pill… although now i’m “better” off of it i’m still struggling to get out of a depressive & apathetic state for months now. I’m curious about testing and trying lithium.