"my whole life has been a process of up and down, excellency and total failure, elation and depression. finally, since starting lamictal, i have become &quot;normal.&quot; i don&#039;t lose my mind when bad things happen or get so excited when good things happen that i forget to tend to other tasks. sure, i get sad. but it&#039;s normal sad, it&#039;s human-- not this overwhelming and crippling process. same thing with happiness, things make me happy, but not irrationally overjoyed. as a college student, i&#039;ve decided to commit myself to pre med in the hope of one day becoming a psychiatrist. i want to give other people the same new lease on life i was given. (mind you, talk therapy is also crucial in personal development.)"