My message to all, whether depressed or not:

Don't think of antidepressants as a crutch. Think of them as an artificial leg.
If you're missing something you ought to have, medical science can often replace it. It's the thinking of the meds as a crutch that makes people want to go off them when they're doing OK, which will make them NOT do OK because it ISN'T a crutch, it's an artificial leg, and without it... you fall over. There is very little about depression, and even less about manic depression, that isn't biological (disagreeing with the above "Depression generally stems from a feeling of not being able to solve some issues." That outdated thinking is dangerous! YES, there may be some actual issue that is upsetting enough to start the process, or bring it to a head, but the issue didn't CAUSE the depression, it provided a context in which it could appear, whereas pre-issue, it was most likely dormant or appearing in other contexts (hives, cramps, headaches...).

Which DOESN'T mean that therapy and dealing with the issue(s) isn't of equal and paramount importance; it's just that dealing ONLY with the issue WILL NOT CURE THE DEPRESSION.

And if you are just down about something and dealing with the something deals with the being down, you are pretty much by definition not depressed. Even if the degree to which you're down prevents you from functioning and requires intervention - your problem will have a different diagnosis.