I've never met or even heard of anyone with bipolar disorder doing well long term without medication, untreated bipolar disorder is degenerative, instability begets instability, and the further off course you get the harder it is to recover.

If you count meds I only took briefly because they made me miserable (like the one I took twice) I've tried well over twenty different psychiatric medications in twenty-three years, all but three of them in the eight years between my diagnosis in early 2009 and my remission four years ago.

It sucked hard but I'm glad I kept trying and I actually wish I'd explored more options sooner and refused to settle for meds that made me feel just ”okay”. I got really lucky when I found my psychiatrist, he's the one who encouraged me to keep going.

Important: you are allowed to fire your psychiatrist if you don't feel comfortable with them or are unhappy with the treatment you're getting, having a psychiatrist you trust makes a big difference.

I never thought I could feel this good or would be this functional but I find myself easily accomplishing tasks that used to seem impossible an average of once a week. (Daily, really, I don't remember the last time I stayed in bed because my mental health was bad.)

Hang in there. ❤️