do I have bipolar [Archive]

I'mdave27

22-12-13, 12:59

I hate asking this because I know how bi polar is diagnosed too much now day's , it's like its become cool. I have no idea why. However , I do need to ask because my moods do worry me and so do my ever changing feelings , what a roller coaster , so I've come here for help. My moods vary from second to second , minute to minute , hour to hour , day to day and month to month , much to my dislike. I can be fine one minute then the next minute I'm all excited or I could be excited about something then next thing I know I'm sick to death of the thing that got me excited , very strange. My fiance has told me she never knows how to approach me in the mornings because she never knows what mood I'm going to be in i'll either be happy , very exited , grumpy or down right moody there is no in between , unfortunately. I have had therapy in the past but I feel It never worked , I did try , but only because I feel this is the way I am it's in my make up. I did tell the therapist and my doctor that I feel there is 2 sides to my personality but the doctor hasn't done anything yet due to him waiting to see if 40mg citalopram helps for anxiety and depression , i'm not sure. However I am seeing the doctor on 31st December so I'll tell him everything then I just hope he takes me serious because mental health runs in my family , not bi polar , so I want him to judge me for me. I'm tired of having thoughts of doing risky stuff such as wanting to take drugs , wanting to drink at work and thinking about sex too much.

HoneyLove

22-12-13, 13:22

Dave, no one here will be able to diagnose you with bipolar, it's your doctor who needs to assess you.

However, it's a misconception that regular mood swings mean bipolar disorder - as far as I know this is not the case. With bipolar it's more that the sufferer goes through extended periods of mania and deep depression. So it would be several months of manic and odd behaviour possibly followed by several months of bad depression. The highs are incredibly high, and the lows are incredible low. Although every sufferer will have different levels of low and high, they usually are noticeable swings that stop them from living a regular life.

It's not about daily mood swings, to me that sounds more like difficulty with stress management and emotion management. It might be better to consider something like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy which will teach you how to manage your mind and mood.

Edie

22-12-13, 13:43

Hi Dave,

Asking your doctor about this is exactly the right thing to do. Maybe write some things down so you can make sure you remember everything you need to tell him.

At times I have had fears that I am bipolar, because my mood can vary. But eventually I realised that the "highs" I was experiencing were actually times of normal feelings. It's just that I've suffered from depression for so long that I'd forgotten how normal feels.

But the things you've mentioned don't sound quite normal, like thinking about drinking, drugs and sex, those are thoughts that people with bipolar do often suffer from. There are types of bipolar disorder where you can get rapid mood swings. Best thing you can do is just be completely open and honest with your GP about things and let him decide where to go from there. If you feel comfortable with it, maybe take your partner to the appointment, she may be able to verify what you're saying. If she can't make it, then maybe ask her to write a list of her concerns from her point of view. Someone else's input can often help get doctors to take things more seriously.

If it is bipolar, there are many medications that are very good at controlling things. Getting a clear diagnosis of exactly what is wrong will help you get the most appropriate and successful treatment - whatever the diagnosis turns out to be.

You're doing the right thing. Good luck on 31st!

harasgenster

22-12-13, 13:47

Hi
Only a psychiatrist can diagnose bipolar.

But I can tell you that rapid mood swings are not a sign of bipolar (I was misdiagnosed with bipolar so have done a lot of research). Rather, consistently 'high' mood swings and 'low' mood swings that last at least a week at a time would suggest bipolar. The 'high' would include a sense of grandiosity (I can achieve anything, I don't need my job, I can spend all my money without consequences etc) that would affect your behaviour.

Thinking about doing drugs and having sex smells like boredom to me. It would be a misconception to associate thoughts of taking risks with actually being blind to consequences as a result of psychiatric disease, and thus impulsively taking risks without a second thought. People with true bipolar normally have extremely chaotic lives as a result of being in debt (from spending all their money), having extremely numerous sexual partners (i.e. not just a high sex drive but impulsively having sex with different people on first meeting them), or addictions to drugs as a result of impulsively taking substances.

Constantly thinking about taking risks makes it sound like you are understimulated, possibly as a result of depression. I get that kind of thing a lot, but it more shows that you want something more in your life (or that you are unable to enjoy what you have as a result of depression), rather than actually being bipolar.

The only actual disorder I can think of that is associated with very rapid cycling of moods and emotional outbursts is borderline personality disorder, but there's a lot more to that than just mood swings! It could be the way anxiety or depression is manifesting itself.

But if you're worried you should ask your GP to refer you to a psychiatrist as they are the only ones that can deal with psychiatric diagnoses.

If it helps, I was (mis)diagnosed on the basis of my behaviour, but my actual subjective experience (i.e. my thoughts and feelings and what was driving me) do not fit with the bipolar diagnosis.

So my behaviour was:
Sleeping VERY little, staying up all night working on my personal writing projects, writing several plays at once, learning new instruments etc., but failing to turn up for work, not keeping up with my personal hygiene and not cleaning to tidying my flat. I also spoke very quickly and I would dart from subject to subject in a confusing way.

That, above, LOOKS like mild bipolar - but in my case wasn't. A bipolar person will behave that way because they feel excited. They do not need as much sleep, they think they're going to be a famous writer so they haven't got time for personal hygiene or doing their flat, they don't need a job, they're going to be famous if they just keep on going with this really, really important project...

This is called delusional thinking and is part of hypomania, which is the 'high' that a bipolar person gets.

In my experience, I was not suffering from hypomania or delusional thinking. I was barely sleeping not because I didn't need the sleep but because I felt so desperately unhappy with my life that I couldn't relax. I was hardly going to work because I was exhausted and because the thought of facing the office would bring me to tears. I was very aware of the consequences, though, and extremely worried about my job (a bipolar person wouldn't be worried during a hypomanic state). I couldn't look after myself or my flat because again, I just couldn't bear it. I couldn't think straight, and it was just too overwhelming. I was writing because I was desperate - I thought, if I just manage to write something good that could sell then I can change my life completely and I will no longer have to struggle through this meaningless existence. I was throwing away projects and starting new ones because I was very self-critical (the opposite of hypomania where the person would consider themselves a genius), and I just kept 'failing' at each project and beginning a new one. I was speaking rapidly and confusingly because I was extremely exhausted having had barely any sleep and my thoughts were racing from anxiety.

So, basically, a psychiatrist will look for behaviour - a bit like mine, perhaps - that is suggestive of a hypomanic state. But it is possible to behave in a hypomanic way without actually being hypomanic, because you may have your own (non-hypomanic) reasons for behaving the way you do.

Hope that makes the idea of bipolar a bit clearer to you. To be honest, you have said nothing in your post that makes me think you have either borderline or bipolar. You sound normal but unhappy to me, especially if you are young (drink, drugs and sex are on all of our minds! Especially if we're miserable). If you are failing to maintain relationships (you fall out with everyone and frequently change friends), you have got so bad you are in debt, losing work etc. Then that's the time to see a psychiatrist and check there isn't anything else going on.

Me: I had anxiety and depression. It's just that those two things can really screw your life up too sometimes :)

Shake

22-12-13, 14:03

Hi I see a psychiatrist and they thought I was bipolar turns out now they think it's borderline personality disorder, but really the psychiatrist is the only one that can diagnose you, they look at your spending and any other erratic behaviours too, well in my case they did maybe different for you.

I'mdave27

22-12-13, 16:12

harasgenster

22-12-13, 16:19

The thing that puts me off telling my doctor everything is my family has a lot of mental health problems. We've all been on antidepressants and some of us still are , myself included , my dad has been seeing a counsellor because he now thinks he has scziphrohenia (not sure if that's spelt correct) and my littlr brother has been diagnosed with that for over 5 years now. I often feel like I'm over reacting and I feel like my doctor feels like I'm doing that also , that's only what I think

You don't sound like you're overreacting to me at all. You sound like you're having some trouble and you're not sure what to do about it. From what you've said above, I don't think you need to worry about any serious mental health disorders (although obviously I'm not a psychiatrist so tell your GP and see what they think), but it's not an overreaction to ask for help. GPs deal with anxiety and depression several times a day. It's very, very common. They will not see it as an overreaction to ask for help.

I guess what might be useful is to write down exactly what the problem is:

Do you feel depressed? Do you feel anxious? Are you unhappy with your life? Do you have erratic moods that bother you? Are you finding it difficult to get on with other people?

Work out exactly what the problem is first. Schizophrenia has a family link, but to be honest it's not such a strong link that anybody is doomed. The doctor may ask about your family history, but to be honest no one has ever asked me. If you were to go to a doctor and say something that made them think 'that could be schizophrenia' or 'that could be bipolar' they will refer you on to a psychiatrist. I've been screened for both those disorders, because I described symptoms that rang bells for several of the GPs I've seen, but I was cleared.

No one is going to assume you have a serious mental illness. You will be properly screened for it if you shown any signs. What you have described in your opening post does not sound like a serious mental illness. It sounds like you're unhappy and possibly having some trouble managing your emotions. Therapy could help with that.

The only way to help yourself is to go to the doctor and tell him what's wrong. Don't go there saying "I think I have....", just go and tell him exactly what's bothering you and if your medication isn't helping then say so. If you haven't already been referred for therapy then it's worth asking about that too.

Good luck.

I'mdave27

22-12-13, 16:31

harasgenster

22-12-13, 18:11

PanchoGoz

22-12-13, 19:08

They where both CBT and if I'm honest I thought it was very silly , not being rude , but how can you change the way you are meant to be ?

I struggle to see the logic in this

fruity

22-12-13, 21:39

i was told by my counciler i had erratic behavour due to my anxiety & depression & told me to see a phycriatric but i didn,t. but realy all these names like bi_ bipolar & so on are just new words for depression & anx. so all you have is what every tom,dick & harry as.

harasgenster

22-12-13, 21:49

but realy all these names like bi_ bipolar & so on are just new words for depression & anx. so all you have is what every tom,dick & harry as.

No, bipolar includes psychosis and very high moods, so it isn't a new word for anxiety or depression any more than schizophrenia is a new word for anxiety or depression. It's a subclass of psychosis. Different disorder (although latest research suggests bipolar and schizophrenia may in fact be the same disorder).

But they're both rare.

And anxiety and depression do cause erratic behaviour but under certain circucumstances GPs will refer just to be safe, which is fair enough.

Rennie1989

22-12-13, 22:22

Eh????

CBT works extremely well for a lot of people with anxiety and depression, I responded with it very well. It armed me with the tools to change my thought process to begin combatting the anxiety, and I'm on my way there. Please do not knock CBT, I don't know if you've tried it or not but it is a life line for some of us.

And bipolar is not a new disease. Each anxiety disorder is different, social, general, health, relationship (not just intimate relationship but family and friends too), OCD, PTSD etc. They all affect different aspects of peoples lives, social affects people being able to meet new people or be in the presence of a large group, health makes people terrified that they have an incurable or vile disease, PTSD is caused by a traumatic past experience etc. Depression is the same, with SAD being a problem in the winter. I'd be very careful saying statements like this because many of us here live with these disorders with great difficulty and statements like that make them sound meaningless and unimportant, which is certainly not the case.

matwsij

23-12-13, 00:02

My family is all seen by the same doctor so he knows all about my family history. I have had therapy by the nhs and privately , paid by myself , I don't think they where very helpful. They where both CBT and if I'm honest I thought it was very silly , not being rude , but how can you change the way you are meant to be ?

I am bipolar. I would _guess_ from your post that you are not. But there is not enough information. Have you had at least two weeks of continuous elevated mood, and at least two weeks of very sad mood? Being interested in sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll is hardly a symptom of mental illness.

These things are only a problem when you and others around you are affected by your persistent mood (either up or down). "Rapid" cycling does occur but those extremes are very noticeable to the sufferer and those around you.

But as many have already pointed out, seek a professional opinion before you jump to conclusions. Anxiety can make us feel hyper or introverted or even make us avoid the world around us. But don't confuse that with uncontrollable mood changes. Anxiety lingers but doesn't lift when we suddenly feel happy. Many bipolar people in a hypomania think there is nothing wrong with them - in fact they think they are really happy. In most people that only happens in response to an event that creates happiness or inspiration naturally.

Matt