LIVING WITH BIPOLAR

hello! for the purposes of this blog I won't be sharing my name with any of you, but I will be sharing my experience of living with bipolar disorder and how it affects my everyday life. I'll start with a bit of background about myself. I was diagnosed in April of 2011, a couple weeks after my 20th birthday. I've always known something was off about my mind and my brain but before that I never knew what. a character on one of my favorite tv shows was diagnosed with bipolar disorder (I was 14 when I saw this) and I immediately knew his experience sounded like my own. I tried to get help following that, but my mom didn't believe me that something was wrong in my head. I suppose a mother's love can make them blind to any imperfections in their kid. anyways, the next year (in 10th grade) I had a huge nervous breakdown at school and had to be taken home and straight to my very first therapy session. for some reason no one diagnosed me that day. it wasn't until I was barely 20, in my second year of college, that someone actually listened and encouraged me to get help. I was finally diagnosed with bipolar type 1 and started medication the same day. since then I've gone through three psychiatrists, three therapists, and a handful of medication combinations. I love my current therapist and psychiatrist, I've been with each of them for about 5 years now and they're wonderful. I'm still trying to find a meds cocktail that works for me and to find my place in the world. I feel so lost and hopeless sometimes. but I want to share my story and my journey to help others who may be newly diagnosed, who have been dealing with this for years and just wanna know there are others who know the same struggle, or those who have loved ones with bipolar disorder who'd like to understand. please join me for this lovely (sarcasm) journey!