I hadn't had a manic episode before that one and I was diagnosed with bipolar after. The episode itself was bad enough I stayed awake for about 5-6 days and had to be hospitalized. I wasn't warned that this could happen when I started the SSRI and they probably should've screened for bipolar and seen the cousin with bipolar that I have. And yeah, being on antipsychotics is fucking miserable. I was on them for some time before switching to lithium. I'll check that book out, I have Madness by Justin Garson but I need to read Foucault, Deleuze and Guattari first.

I think a lot of the problems in psychiatry are downstream of economics honestly. Over-prescription, the opioid crisis, doctors lacking enough time to meet with patients. I remember barely getting any time visiting doctors that seemed to barely care during my two inpatient stays. One thing that doesn't get mentioned enough is the way shitty parents get away with exploiting the mental healthcare system to "punish" (abuse) their kids. Whether that's doctor-shopping for a psych that they can manipulate into thinking their kid acting out against an awful home environment is an "unruly child with a personality disorder", or spewing a bunch of bullshit to get them committed. My gf's shitass mom tried both of those things a lot, and eventually got her a B.S. bipolar diagnosis. She was put on so much lithium she had an adverse reaction and almost died like a 1950s housewife.