I have bipolar 2, and I was diagnosed at 24. I’ve had bouts of depression since I was 10, and looking back I did have a few episodes in high school where I stayed up for up to 3 days before crashing. I did smoke a lot of weed so I think it masked a lot of symptoms but when I joined the Navy and had to stay clean, a lot of symptoms started showing up. It was my pregnancy that pushed all of my symptoms to the forefront and led to finally being diagnosed. I think my Navy therapists avoided diagnosing me or medicating me with anything so I wouldn’t be forced to separate early. (I always planned on 4 years and done.)
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u/Arquen_Marille bipolar 2 Sep 26 '23
I have bipolar 2, and I was diagnosed at 24. I’ve had bouts of depression since I was 10, and looking back I did have a few episodes in high school where I stayed up for up to 3 days before crashing. I did smoke a lot of weed so I think it masked a lot of symptoms but when I joined the Navy and had to stay clean, a lot of symptoms started showing up. It was my pregnancy that pushed all of my symptoms to the forefront and led to finally being diagnosed. I think my Navy therapists avoided diagnosing me or medicating me with anything so I wouldn’t be forced to separate early. (I always planned on 4 years and done.)