Hey everyone,

I've been on lithium for almost two years now and while it's curbed a lot of my mania, I'm starting to realize that my depression is pretty bad and meds don't seem to work as well. I'm also experiencing a combination of work-related burnout, secondhand trauma, and just pure exhaustion from so much that's happened in the last 6 months I wasn't able to process: dad nearly dying from stage 4 liver cancer in S. Korea, isolation from COVID, losing friends due to political divide...

I'm in a weird situation too with my health insurance. I'm on an HMO plan from work and my therapy option is super limited. I got paired with a CBT therapist that is the only one available, but I feel more anxiety when I saw her. I felt like I wasn't even heard and it was purely solutions-focused with tons of homework thrown at me. What I really would like is just talk therapy. 

I also struggle with pretty bad Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). I've always felt like my bipolar is rooted in my social anxiety. Prolonged stress and anxiety plummet me into manic/depressive states. Thankfully, I'll be seeing my psychiatrist this Friday to report all of this, but it just sucks. I'm fighting to get by but also trying to be real with myself so I can go through it.

I can't be the only one going through something like this....does anyone who take lithium seem to feel the same way about the depression part? Thanks for reading.