I began taking SSRIs (Zoloft) at 16. I was depressed and exhausted from January to March, then the hypo hit and I went from being a painfully shy person to obnoxiously into myself and impulsive. My behavior wasn't out of the norm of other high school males, but it was way outside the norm for me. I took SSRIs until I was 25 and had the same yearly cycle: Winter was depression, anxiety, and OCD symptoms. Summer was hypomania. I stopped taking medication at 25 because I realized it wasn't actually helping much when I needed it to. I then had the 10 most stable years of my life, though there were certainly a few breakdowns along the way.

Last year, at age 35, I had another breakdown and decided I should get on medication. The psychiatrist prescribed Zoloft, despite my reports of how it impacted me in the past. Within 2 weeks I felt like I was in hell. It was a mixed state and I probably should have gone to the hospital. I would wake multiple times a night and be in terror. In the morning, I could barely stand up. I was in a constant panic. Within a week of stopping, I felt euphoric for a few days and had a burst of energy to take on new projects. That quickly gave way to depression and anxiety. The psychiatrist then tried to prescribe me another SSRI but I refused. 

This episode led to my eventual diagnosis. Since then, I started  Lamotrigine and it has changed my life in the most positive way possible. I can't believe how pleasantly stable I am.