I've been diagnosed 19 years- I was 9 when I received my diagnosis. I had symptoms for years before.

I've got mania pretty much mastered. I can spot all the different signs, can notice them increasing in number and intensity. I wouldn't say I have it on lock, but I've got a pretty solid grip on it.

Depression is more foreign to me. I don't have too much experience with it, as my bipolar always favored mania or hypomania. And also... it tricks me.

It was only recently that I noticed that depression sneaks in, by wearing Nostalgia as a mask. I'll become nostalgic, and soon after find myself depressed.

Well I was watching a video of the different scores used for a character I really enjoy, and it went chronologically. The first score was from the beginning of the show.

And I started to dip (a little absurdly) into, "Back when that character was alive," "So sad," "I miss that character," "I wish he'd come back."

And then I ***caught*** it. I noticed that this was the beginning of a weird, depression nostalgia-dip. I closed the video, and went to do something else.

I'm really proud of myself for this. It's a good step to getting a handle on this facet of the illness.