Bipolar Disorder Support Group

Bipolar disorder is not just a single disorder, but a category of mood disorders marked by periods of abnormally high energy and euphoria, often accompanied by bouts of clinical depression. This is the place to talk about your experience with bipolar disorder, learn from others' experiences, and find support.

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Bipolar as a kid or just bipolar tendencies

oldbutwise
oldbutwise

Hi all. I can still remember the day I suddenly up and quit clarinet lessons and the band in 6th grade. I know now that what I was feeling was mania. I remember feeling that way sometimes (I am/was a rapid cycler) since 3rd grade, possibly second, and before that I couldn't remember clearly.  Ever since I was 6 I've had to roleplay different adventures in my head to get my mind to shut down enough to sleep. I talked to my psychiatrist about this and said I've been bipolar since I was a kid. He said I may have had bipolar tendencies but that I wasn't bipolar until later in life. I don't know about that. I know how the DSM works. "We haven't seen it so it's not in there." "It's not in there so it doesn't happen." That's like saying time travel is impossible because no one has time travelled before. What do you folks think? They know kids have depression. Could some of us have been bipolar since we were kids too?

jessekay
jessekay
So to this day people tell me people I went to high school tell me that they saw me acting out and I guess it was a Mania but I don't remember because someone what I do in my mania I don't remember so it's easy to have all these memories don't feel bad because it'll just be something you look back on
OlderCPer
OlderCPer
Its not due to an impossibility of a DSM explanation.

The reason that BiPolar Disorder cannot specifically be Diagnosed until a person is around 19, sometimes 18 at the earliest is because the part of the brain that BiPolar affects is not fully developed until that age. And until the brain is fully developed and grown you can't Diagnose a Disease, When your a child and growing your brain is constantly developing and changing, physically, organically and chemically.

There are many other Mental Illness/Mood Disorders in childhood that mimic the symptoms of BiPolar Disorder. Behavior and Cognitive Disorders, OCD, ADD or ADHD, Anxiety Disorders, Depression, etc.

So your Pdoc is not just blowing smoke. Its really not a Diagnosis that can properly be given at a young age and the medications used to treat BiPolar many of which are not FDA recommended for children under 18, they have sever side effects, which can actually cause Mental Illness in their developing brains, and many have severe Suicidal side effects.

And yes children can and do suffer from Depression, but UniPolar Depression is a very different thing than BiPolar Disorder.

Take care,

Kat
oldbutwise
oldbutwise
Thanks for that Kat. Do you know of anything then that would mimic mania in a 3rd grader? I'm positive I have a correct diagnosis of bipolar disorder. But is there something from childhood that could have "morphed" into BD? Or is it simply that I had the tendencies like he said and it coalesced later in life?
Sunshinegirl0228
Sunshinegirl0228
I had traits as a child and often spoke to the school counselor but was never referred to a psychiatrist. Honestly I think my parents didn’t care what was going on with me. I should have been in regular counseling since grade school but mom was never home and dad was an abusive alcoholic.
OlderCPer
OlderCPer
ADD and ADHD both have similar symptoms that look like Mania. Some Anxiety Disorders and Behavioral Disorders have symptoms like those of Mania. Even Depression in children can manifest as failure to complete tasks, starting projects and not finishing them and aggravated or aggressive behavior. So its hard to say what you might have had going on.
oldbutwise
oldbutwise
I understand. Thanks all. It looks like I'll have to be satisfied never really knowing what went on back then. Like I say from what I've read and talking to my psychiatrists over the years I'm certain I'm bipolar. I can't do anything about what I went through then but I can focus on today, right? I'm fine with it being a riddle wrapped in a mystery smothered in secret sauce. (Which Simpson character said that by the way? I know it's a misquote of Winston Churchill.)
Community LeaderSunCloudJD
SunCloudJD
Welcome to the board oldbut....

I don't think OlderC is stating that it can't be bipolar just that bipolar isn't diagnosed until a certain point because they aren't sure what it is definitely until a certain age due to brain development

I think that's one reason why the psych community went to I don't want to 'label' anything ...

I like to have a diagnosis for understanding so I hear you..... Big hug....xo
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