Hi @P12, as @Shaz51 said, these are good questions.
I wonder if the psych clinicians you saw gave you a diagnosis. It has helped me to be diagnosed for more effective treatments, though there are some downsides to getting a label like that too. Overall though I have found my bipolar diagnosis more helpful than harmful though over the three decades I have been receiving treatment and different kinds of support.
Even though my mental health struggles have not gone away, they are generally far less severe. it is without doubt in my mind that treatment and support from doctors, psychologists, other mental health professionals and the peer support here on the forum, have significantly raised my quality of life.
I really like and agree with what @TideisTurning said about each individual being different when it comes to the forms of help that will work best for each of us. Different forms of help in combination have been best for me. Living with bipolar has involved learning and exploration of different methods of assistance. It's also been for me about finding a measure of acceptance about my life and who I am in general.
You asked about other forms of support besides clinicians. One of the most effective forms of assistance for me has been in the area of psychosocial support. Mostly so far that has been a support worker who has helped me become more engaged in the wider world, helped me rebuild lost confidence and helped me to generally improve the quality of my life.
Workplaces have been very difficult for me too over my life, with some periods of happier employment, mostly because the employers themselves were good people, and my fellow workers mostly the same. I am retired on a disability pension now, that pension being one of the best things that ever happened to me in my life.
Well wishes to you.
