Dear NoWhereWoman~
I"d like to welcome you here to the Forum. It can be a good move because we have so many peple here some may well have the same experiences as you. The symptoms you have to live with must be very distressing, and not knowing what the problem is or when it is going to become so intrusive a real worry, one probably cannot rely upon oneself.
I am not a doctor so please do not think I"m speaking with authority, though one thing you can be certain about is that people react in vastly differing ways and there is most probably no balance between time feeling depressed and time feeling the effects of hypomania.
There is a thread called This Bipolar Life, it is very long but just skimming though it will give you an idea of the diversity of expereinces
That may be why often the depression is treated if it is the longer lasting issue and that really only addresses part of the problem. Can I suggest you discuss with your therapist any downsides if you were to be treated as having bipolar disorder for a trial period and see how you go from there?
At a practical level do you feel you have any warning about what is going to happen? If so talkng with a friend or family member may help you not go to extremes. There may be other things you can think of - again you therapist may have some ideas.
When I was on a certain medication (now withdrawn from the market) I would become dangerously overconfident and uninhibited, as the was a short period before this really took hold (it came in waves) I'd hand my car keys to my partner as my driving would become downright dangerous.
If you would like to say how you get on that would be very welcome
Croix
