I recently got diagnosed with bipolar 2 after years of misdiagnosed MDD. It comes at a time when I’m in a depressive cycle and my maladaptive coping activities have been through the roof. Now things are worse, It’s almost as if the diagnosis has given me an excuse to engage in the behaviors that I know aren’t productive. 

Prior to the diagnosis this year I have been really trying to work on myself and heal. I go to therapy every week, I enrolled in a DBT skills group and I am doing it for the second time so that things really click, I got on mood stabilizers. The last two made me think it was more than depression but nobody believed me until now, after many failed attempts with anti depressants. The diagnosis has been a mixture of emotions: bittersweet, relief, anxiety, disappointment, apathy.


I think I am reaching out for support as I am still figuring out who in my life I can and cannot tell. The friends I have told have been supportive but I worry that things will change in the future.

I guess I say all of that to ask: did your diagnosis further the dysregulation of your emotions? I feel like everything I’ve been learning in the skills group has flown out the window and I’m back to square one.

Thank you in advance for any advice or input. :)