Question about Bull Runs

I’m slowly investing in crypto month to month. I’ll probably continue to be slow about it. I have multiple questions I suppose. Is this subreddit actually useful? How do you know which posts are credible and which aren’t? I’ve been seeing a ton about bull runs and potential. But if I recall correctly a lot of people say there is usually 3-5 years between bear and bull runs, yet it’s only been about a year and a half or so since the last “bull run”. With talks of recession looming, how can we be optimistic about it? If there is a spike, doesn’t that usually mean the whales are taking advantage of people new to crypto or aren’t well educated. Are there false bull runs that can be spotted? I want to do my own research. But it’d be nice if someone pointed me in the right direction.