Psychiatrist appointment - not sure what to make of this

[YesICanHearYouClemFandango]

I've posted this in chat but it just occurred to me I might get more replies here.

Posting here for traffic and because I want it to disappear. If you have any knowledge of mental health, I would really appreciate your take on this.

I have just been thinking about the psychiatrist I saw a few times when I was about 23. At my last appointment with him, he said - and I remember this clear as day - "the type of depression you have - some people call it "Bipolar 2" - often people grow out of it around the age of 24, 25. So hopefully that's what will happen to you". (Has anybody heard of this happening?) He said he was happy to discharge me and that it was fine that I'd stopped taking my trazodone and lamotrigine, because if I was going to have any ill effects from stopping i would already have had them. He said I seemed to be better and it was good I was working again (I had just told him that i was now juggling 4 different jobs. At previous appointment I was unemployed). Then he sent me on my merry way - I think he ended by saying he hoped he didn't see me in the future.

Thoughts?

op, I know that there are age related factors in the onset of some mh illnesses, so logically it seems that there may also be for some to clear up. Do you feel this is true for you? If not , do you want to see this dr again or a different one? Actually a second opinion is a good idea.

Hi amarmai thanks for your reply. Sorry, it dawned on me over on my other thread that I probably should have given more info in my OP. This appointment was over 10 years ago. I have been very unwell for at least the last 10 years but I didn't recognize how ill I was and often didn't think I was ill at all. But I was. And it's only now, a month into being on medication for the first time in over 10 years, that I'm beginning to realise how ill I've been. I feel like a different person.

So no, I definitely don't want to see that psychiatrist again! I can't even remember his name actually. I feel quite angry with him tbh because I can't help feeling that maybe he could have done his job a bit better and I wouldn't have wasted over a decade of my life. But I wasn't sure whether I was justified in feeling this.

I have bipolar 2 and I'm in my 40s. It's a lifelong condition. I've gone long periods without being medicated, but it always rears its ugly heard again if I do.

I'm not a psychiatrist and I don't know your history, but if you're well and unmedicated, I'd say it was more likely you had unipolar depression rather than bipolar.

Thanks CloakAndJagger. I hope you are well at the moment. I am starting to feel quite good actually - I started antidepressants about a month ago, and it's the first time I've been on medication since that appointment (so 10+ years). All of a sudden it's like a fog has lifted and I can see how ill I've been. Probably for the last 10 years. I didn't recognize I was ill apart from when SEVERELY depressed and/or going through one panic attack after another. I never sought treatment until now and that was just because my anxiety is through the roof, I genuinely didn't actually think I was depressed at the time, but looking back, I definitely was. So I guess I'm not as insightful about my own mental health as I thought I was.

Just a thought, if you wanted you could probably ask the GP for a copy of the letter from the psychiatrist following up your consultation. It might clarify what they said x