Hi @frog @Shaz51  @Meowmy @Klutz @Former-Member @greenpea @Olga @Shaz51 @eth @HenryX @Appleblossom and all reading,

Missed the live discussion tonight but just read through the whole 18 pages. It was great to hear from other people with bipolar and everyone who posted there. I learned in thought and heart from reading it.

I do not remember any time at all since I was 5 years old (now 58) when I was in any real state of wellness mentally, nor functional with school or work. Almost all the time with what's been called bipolar 1 for about the past decade, I've mainly had major depression and anxiety. That was my clinical diagnosis for 20 years before it became clear my condition was better described and treated as bipolar.

I had one five-year manic episode, during which I also cried a huge amount and at length very often, and also often went from high to low rapidly in one day. Then I crashed to the max for several years afterwards.

In 2019 I became hypomanic and achieved amazing things for a year before another massive crash after coming back from overseas. Good news is I have been very slowly recovering again over the 15 months since, and will soon be getting a lot of extra support from NDIS to help with my wellness.

I am starting to think depresson underlies everything in bipolar. I saw an informational graph the other day that had everything rising from a bed of major depression. I wonder if anyone relates to that. I'm also interested in other's thoughts on the role of family genes.