(TLDR at the bottom)
so i (F19) was diagnosed with unspecified bipolar about 2 years ago and my psychiatrist thought that i was in the developing stages of bipolar but would end up with bipolar II since my depression was more of a problem than any of my manic symptoms. i was put on an antipsychotic and have been on it since.
over spring break in early march of this year however, i had what i thought was a hypomanic episode, where over the course of a week i blew through $1200, thought i had cured myself of all mental illness, thought that i could cure other people, was elevated, slept less, was irritable, etc. i mentioned this to my psychiatrist and also talked about how basically ever since that episode ive been restless and agitated by the feeling of boredom, i constantly feel like i need to multitask, my ability to focus and maintain my attention is worse, and i have this constant itch to do something but nothing ever really satisfies that itch.
i honestly thought this psychomotor agitation was my adhd, but after talking about it all with my psychiatrist, including the fact that’s it’s spring and it’s common for people with bipolar to get revved up like i’ve been, she thinks i almost had a full manic episode and that my mood stability is the core issue of all my recent struggles. she’s now putting me on a mood stabilizer, to manage my symptoms.
TLDR: was unspecified bipolar with insufficient hypomanic symptoms for 2 years until i recently had what appears to be almost a full manic episode and now im potentially looking at a bipolar 1 diagnosis
does anyone else have experiences with being in the developing stages of bipolar 1? i feel very alone in this and would appreciate literally anything anyone has to say about their experiences