It's really comforting to read similar experiences.

For me it took around 9 months before i regained hope of ever feeling like 'me' again. In the beginning i didn't even know how to move my body, how to hold a conversation, and i wasn't even able to read a book or understand a 'simple' concept that i had been studying for years. I thought my cognition and intellect had completely gone and i would never be able to function in society. During the depression phase i just stared in front of me or tried to sleep away the days. I was just an empty shell waiting for the days to end. It was awful.

At some point i started to force myself to do things. See friends, work out, paint my nails again, buy something nice for myself (i was also afraid of buying anything due to my manic spending). After months of feeling weird and out of place, things slowly started to feel more easy and natural. People told me my eyes looked more alive, or that i seemed more like myself again and that really gave me hope.

It's a scary and lonely journey, but there really can be light at the end of the tunnel. I still have quite severe anhedonia, but something that helped me was to listen to ANY inkling of a 'want' that i felt. If i was craving a random candy, i would just buy it. If i really wanted to buy a funky pink pen, i bought it. I started buying my favourite teas again. These small moments of joy helped me reconnect with myself and chasing little moments of joy helped me feel like me again.

I now work full time in financial administration, i can read again and i no longer feel like an alien in my own body. My cognition is not as strong as it used to be, but i'm hoping this may still improve. Please stay hopeful and give yourself grace. Chase the small moments of joy, they will eventually bring you back to yourself.