Hiya.
I need some advice. I am a twenty year old female. Around the age of twelve, I was diagnosed with mild depression and anxiety. Immedeatly upon diagnosis, I was sent to a psychiatrist and put on medication. The talking seemed to help and, after awhile, I was pulled out of counseling. I have been in and out of counseling offices ever since. My depression just seemed to keep coming back and it got worse and worse each time. A couple of months ago, my mother discovered that I had been cutting myself. She talked me into going to a treatment center for it. This specific treatment center did not believe in medication and they also believed that the core of all of my problems was unresolved sin. While at the treatment center, one of my mentors posed a very interesting question to me. She asked if I had ever considered that I might have bipolar disorder. She had noticed extreme ups and downs in my mood that I had just passed off as depression. No big deal, right? Everyone goes from happy to sad on a constant basis. When she asked me this, I decided to do a little bit of research on bipolar disorder. What I found is that my symptoms are very consistant with the symptoms of bipolar. The next step would be to get a diagnosis so that I could begin treatment and proceed to get myself back on the right track. The only problem with that is I don't have a job and I have no way to pay for treatment. I have looked into medical assistance for my county. Unfortunately, I don't qualify because I don't have a diagnosis. But I can't recieve a diagnosis because I don't have the money to pay to see a psychiatrist. Does anyone have anyone have any advice for me regarding this matter? I would be much appreciative.