Reading Kay Redfield Jamison’s An Unquiet Mind” and “Breaking the Patterns of Depression” and “Undoing Depression“. It does seem to help me understand this isn’t just something I’m going through but that lots of people go through. One in eight people will be treated for depression at some point in their lives, and one in ten is being treated at any point in time. So it is pretty common, really.
The bipolar aspect is really the newest thing I have to deal with, though. I was never “over the top” manic until last year, so never got diagnosed as bipolar before. Looking back, I see other times in my life I’ve been hypomanic, so it has probably always been there to some extent. Anyway, I seem to have a good balance right now with the lamictal, which is making me feel much better, and the Welbutrin for the depression. We’ll see if things continue to get better. I hope so…