I am not convinced that having a Diagnosis of Bipolar made any difference to my treatment or recovery.
I think CBT did start putting me on the road to managing the condition by implanting the idea that doing those things first that can be done makes a difference.
Getting on top of the seasonal nature of my depression (I was always worst in January/Feb/March) by raising my Vitamin D3 status with 5000iu/daily/D3 was a big help. I'm sure you know that
most people with psychiatric illness have low 25(OH)D levels.
Sorting out my omega 3 intake (I now take 1800mg high epa omega 3 fish oil daily + krill oil + Linseed meal) also improves brain function as does
the 600mg Magnesium I take to help me deal better with stress.
I also take a couple of melatonin tablets at night to help me sleep better.
I think it's also worth knowing your brain functions better when burning fat than burning glucose.
Dr McCleary makes a good job of explaining some of the roles of Vitamin D for brain function here. I don't think he explains about it's role in detoxifying the brain or dealing with inflammation but it's still worth reading. Although his book The Brain Trust Program is really concerned with preventing dementia it does explain what the brain needs in the way of nutrition, so he goes into great detail about eating for optimum brain health (which is what finally motivated me to change my diet and reduce carbohydrates) He's also very keen on physical exercise for brain health as well as mental gymnastics.
It was only relatively recently, when I started
low carbohydrate diet, that I really felt it was much easier to keep my obsessive thoughts under control and keep my mind concentrating on what I wanted to study. Being able to think clearly, quicker and sharper has made decision making much simpler.
It does take time though to correct Vit D, omega 3, magnesium status, allow around 12 weeks to get to the levels that really help and I think it was only after a year of taking 5000iu/d/D3 omega3 magnesium that I really noticed I was experiencing less pain in my muscles & joints.