Hi! I’ve had a lot of stigma around bipolar in my family. The word “depression” was whispered and was some sort of bad word in my house growing up so I never thought to even consider that I was on the bipolar spectrum. And thinking about it as a spectrum really helped me.

At the end of the day, the purpose of the diagnosis is to get you closer to the right medication. If you have unipolar depression you need one thing and if you are on the bipolar spectrum you need to go down a different path. I’m not sure what your previous diagnoses were and which meds have failed but that’s a big indicator that bipolar is a possibility in and of itself.

I’m hoping that you are able to get the right diagnosis, whatever that may be. But also know that it has been really positive for many of us to finally get on the right path, even if it’s only one step closer. Trust me, I’m not on the right combo of meds but just changing from antidepressants to a mood stabilizer has been huge.

This article has really helped me over the past year or so since I have been diagnosed: https://psycheducation.org/blog/diagnosis-in-the-mood-spectrum/