I concur with all who've said exercise! Additionally, find music that is a cathartic supplement to your mood even if it isn't overly inspirational or uplifting. Allow yourself to have the feelings and emotions thst you have as long as they aren't self destructive ... they are your feelings. Find music that also is uplifting as well! Keep moving ... small tasks thst build upon each other. I've also done intensive out patient therapy and I highly valued it's positive effect on my well being but you have allow yourself to "dig" into who you are and how you got there. Peel the onion! You will get there!

As a Board Certified Health Education Specialist, the first thing to look for when you're not physically or mentally your best, is to look at your diet and the amount of daily physical activity. If people don't get outside and/or take vitamin D and get other essesential nutrients, which help your brain and body perform "normally", FDA "approved" chemicals only mask sysmptoms and often bring numerous unwanted or dangerous side effects. Try improving your diet, taking nutritional supplements (which most MD's are clueless about-including St. John's wort)-instead of dangerous drugs. Also, smile more and frown less.... Good luck!

I wish I could help you. I can share my own experience with you, if that helps any. I'm bipolar also, with an anxiety disorder. I have low tolerance for a lot of people and a lot of noise. I have to take three different medications just to stay employed. I also have to practice A LOT of self care that most people don't understand, which is why I have few friends. They don't understand that I have to have a regular bedtime. They don't understand why I decline invitations to certain types of functions (parties with loud ass children). They don't understand that if I do manage to show up for said function, I'll need two days of silence to recuperate and get my brain to stop being on fire. I was going to DBT therapy for three years and it just does not work for me anymore. It does help me to know my triggers, try to avoid or manage them, eat as healthy as I can, sleep right, stay away from energy draining vampires, and have some kind of support network. And always remember that whatever crappy feeling you're having, it passes. You mentioned that your apartment is a mess...it might help you to feel less chaotic if your surroundings are not in chaos. Maybe clean one small area at a time as not to get overwhelmed.

Have you tried taking CBD oil?
People report that it makes them calm and happy, as well as being as effective as the doctor prescribed drugs used to treat bipolar symptoms.

Link: Evidence that CBD has the same antipsychotic and anticonvulsive properties as conventional bipolar disorder treatments. [psychedelictimes.com]

My therapy is tomorrow at 8 am. We will be your therapists. Keep posting how you're feeling and how you're doing.

Continue to reach out. Here and with friends and family. Visit a pet store handle a fuzzy. Visit the zoo, just get out of your present environs and interact. Make water balloons and just vent, throw those suckers hard against a wall. Eat whatever you really like, treat yourself. Write yourself a letter and just have a cathartic moment. Turn off the tube and turn on some music and just dance. If all else fails call MOM, she always knows whats best. If you need to go into depth, I am a Nurse Practitioner and you can message me.

I take anxiety meds. Yoga outside or just sitting outside in the fresh air brings a sense of peace. Sometimes I need to isolate because my job (high school teacher) surrounds me with almost constant noise. I also have at least one friend that occasionally gets me out of my bubble. Even just grabbing food together after work once a week does the trick and keeps me connected. I hope you have someone like that or find someone like that.

Do SOMETHING to make you feel good about yourself that's also good for you. Go for a walk, take a shower and sing a Backstreet Boys song at the top of your lungs, cook a healthy meal...

When it comes to the apartment, you don't need to clean it all. Just take 10 minutes or focus on one small area. Tomorrow do another 10 minutes or another small area.

@Bverret2012

Mood disorders often have a link to B-vitamin levels, proteins/amino acids, water and the other macronutrients, because those are the primary and functional structure of your nervous system. Try to talk to a nutritionist before you consider putting a band-aid on the problem.

Perhaps therapy would help, not because you are going to hear the same answers, but because it will give you an open forum to safely discuss your thoughts and feelings? Maybe being able to talk your thoughts out will help you to find the pathway out of your rut?

Here is a suggestion from the bottom if my heart.... I am 54 and life keeps passing by faster by the day. I wish I was your age and you will have mine in a heartbeat if you don't snap out of that loop. No one will break it for you, that's something you are going to have do yourself. Set small goals and execute, then keep on moving forward on to bigger goals. Hope this helps...

For me, when I isolate, it is usually due to fear of something that I really FEEL like I need to address - but is difficult or I don't yet know how I want to proceed.
Personally I've been really irritated and tiny things frustrate me... Quid pro quo? Lol

Perhaps trying to be more invested in your success rather than depending on someone or a magic bullet. Change comes from efforts. I wish you success. Please keep us posted. You might benefit from a supportive community as much as a therapist. Whatever it takes. And good luck. It takes time. Sometimes you have good days and some not so great. But we’re all capable of resilience. I’m rooting for you. I’m sure others are too. Hang in there.

Seems like you need a therapist who isn't a CBT or DBT practitioner. Narrative therapy, solution focused brief therapy, or something more existential could work for you if behavioral therapies haven't. Are you BP I, BP II, or cyclothymic?

I have had a number of therapists over the years, but currently am seeing one that has helped to save my life. It is incredibly important - though time consuming and often frustrating - to use the first session or two as interviews. Share your diagnoses, current struggles that you need immediate help with, and what you've employed to this point that hasn't worked. They should be a source for reading material and be open to researching the books you find and bring to their attention. You will know a lot about the fit by listening to your intuition. Even if there isn't something you could pinpoint that bothers you about someone, if you are uncomfortable in any way then you should move on to the next. I wish you the best of luck and applaud you for not hiding your struggles, but seeking help. That is true courage.

I am not a psychiartrist or a therapist, but I would try to be around other people more. Isolating yourself for three months can't be good. Maybe you could go to your local library, or walk in a park and just look at the scenery, the plant life, birds, and people. I wish you all the best! Good luck!

Do you have a trusted friend or family member that could come over, help you straighten up and/or get you out for a walk or a coffee or something? Re-grounding yourself with the fact that the world is still turning - and you are an important part of it - can really help. When I was having panic attacks 4 years ago, grounding was what brought me out of it. Connect with the outside world somehow - even if it is just putting your feet in the grass. Here for you! <3

Get another opinion id say.

I can relate. I am a nurse by profession and in the psychiatric setting for half of my 30 year career. I haven't benefited greatly from therapy ever. I find it difficult to find anyone more informed, enlightened, or experienced in the things causing me distress. I wish I had some wisdom to share that is comforting.
I will say this, the times I just showed up for therapy gave me enough push to work through on my own. So, if you can go to therapy without stress caused by financial burden, then you might as well.

If the meds you're on address an actual brain chemistry issue (you didn't elaborate on your doctor's diagnosis), then stay the course and follow @SiverDollarJedi's advice about exercise. For me, what keeps me from going dark is a supplement called Rhodiola Rosea. The stuff is fucking magic; so much so, that my wife recommends it to her clients (she's a hypnotherapist and life coach.) Its mechanism of action is to boost serotonin levels in the brain, which a lack thereof leads to depression.

Are you on a Medicaid program? Are you disabled? You may qualify for services to help you get a home health aide who could help you organize and clean? Do you have a case worker?

More sex.....

Do you use cannabis? A sativa THC dominate? Helps with my moods. I use happy buds.

Was there a particular trigger you can think of? Is it something you can do anything about?

My last Depression and Anxiety isolation mode was triggered by an intensely personal rejection by a man who shares many diagnoses with me, more than he actually has yet (he doesn't want to admit to his mental health issues, but he definitely has a Personality Disorder too, and that was a major part of the rejection). He won't talk to me, so I can't try to fix it. All I can do is try to make other friends and keep going to work.