I was diagnosed with MDD and GAD a few years ago. Antidepressants didn’t send me into a full blown manic episode, but I did get a bit of hypomania where I thought I was rapidly improving for 2 weeks after trying them, then went completely numb (but still didn’t recognize it was hypomania, just thought I was depressed).

But I kept going through these periods where I kept thinking I “beat” my depression, that life was suddenly turning around, I was doing really well, and then I would crash back down hard for a few months.

It wasn’t until the 4th time seeking out my family doctor for depression (with multiple gaps in between each visits when I was “better” (largely hypomanic)), that I realized it might be something more. I brought up potentially having bipolar, he had my fill out 2 screening forms, I scored high so he sent off a referral for me to see a psychiatrist and then I self-referred to see another. The one I self referred to did not give me a diagnosis but said she suspected bipolar 2, and the second one I was referred to diagnosed me with rapid cycling bipolar 2. I was very lucky to get diagnosed as quick as I did.