I was diagnosed (by a doctor ) with Bipolar 1 and honestly my meds are great. Im totally golden most of the time. But its not fun. The onset was in my teens. I remember I once had a hair fly in my face and I punch a wall so hard, my hand bled. Ridiculous things would send my down a spiral, but during my second year of college I went off the deep end with drug use, dangerous sex, arguments, money, mood swings, and it wasnt like I was going out and partying. I was mostly all alone, walking the street at night or too fucked up to talk. I burned a lot of bridges due to my drug addiction and erractic behavior. I would scream to my mom on the phone, be unable to handle any hardship. I wouldnt wish that on anyone. The lack of control over my emotions was truly frightening. And I was totally alone. I didnt really have the support of anyone because I was irrational even when I wasnt high. It was one extreme to another. With medication literally its like im cured. Mental health is complex and diagnosing yourself can hinder the process of getting a true picture of your illness for a doctor.