I'm really scared that I am Bipolar.....

[Sharon123]

I have been diagnosed with pretty severe OCD and GAD. But I keep thinking there must be something else going on.

The thing that is worrying me a lot is that I have noticed that whenever my anxiety eases up for a bit or the OCD lets go for a little while due to reassurance or something like that I get this wonderful spurt of almost euphoric relief. And I start wanting to do a bunch of things I couldn't do when I was obsessing. I keep looking this up on the internet and no one is reporting this. Most people say they just feel "normal" after a period of anxiety or maybe worse. I for some reason get this burst of happiness and joy and goosebumps and an overwhelming sense of gratitude and enjoyment for life. And I even start feeling like laughing. It's cause I feel so relieved for that period of time and I don't have to worry about anything. It lasts only until the next worry takes hold.

I keep wondering if this is a sign of Bipolar......
I can't stop obsessively tracking my moods or reviewing my past to see if I was having episodes or if I was mood cycling. I think I might have had a depressive episode before but I feel too scared to admit that because I don't want it to mean Bipolar.....I am so terrified right now. I am hyperaware of my every mood, emotion, and sensation.......I feel really really miserable and trapped with this fear....

[Wilcom81]

Hi Sharon What you describe is something I myself experience regularly. Today for instance, I found myself in a state of anxiety for most of the day, (I will not say what was causing this anxiety, for it is a topic often discussed here at present), but then, about late afternoon, this anxiety began to leave me, other matters began to occupy my mind, and within 20 minutes or so I was doing a 60's dance routine which lasted for about 30 minutes, and seeing as I am in mjd 80's, makes me feel quite pleased with myself. I also have two other ways of changing my mood, No,1, I get out of the house, seeing other people around always changes my mood, and No.2 I read Dale Carnegie's book 'Stop Worrying and Start Living'. Hope this message helps a little.

[Pkstracy]

I sent you a pm, also bipolar is very hard to diagnose, ADD or ADHD can mimic bipolar and a lot of times people are diagnosed as being bipolar when they are really ADD, but again only a trained psychatrist and therapist can confirm if you are or aren't.