I spent an awful lot of my life underestimating myself and, as a result, not exceeding my own expectations.

When I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder the year I turned 50, it was certainly a shock. But as a journalist, knowing a little bit about a lot of things, I didn't suffer the misconception that depression was all in my head or a mark of poor character. I knew it was a disease, and, like all diseases, was treatable.

It may feel like the more you know about depression and the many forms it can take, the more questions you have. That's how I feel.

It's like if people don't see you on TV every day, they think you're in cryogenics somewhere.

My tides were fluctuating, too - back and forth, back and forth - sometimes so fast they seemed to be spinning. They call this 'rapid cycling.' It's a marvel that a person can appear to be standing still when the mood tides are sloshing back and forth, sometimes sweeping in both directions at once. They call that a 'mixed state.'

Well, every now and then I would hear the preposterous notion that that Jane Pauley sounds like Barbara Walters. Like I could if I tried?

New Yorkers, by reputation, are fast-talking, assertive and easily annoyed; I fit right in.