I have mood disorder, which is what bipolar is - you may go from a manic state to severely depressed, and the length of time you're in one or the other varies person to person. My manic state is rare... but when i'm in it, I'll talk a lot (more than usual), have trouble controlling impulses (for me, it's spending), and have much more energy than is normal for me. Depressed is... way depressed. Not sure if this helps, but that's what I know about bipolar...

i have bipolar.. its ups and downs.. the change of views.. change in feelings and personality quickly

i didnt think i had it at first.. i thought it was like for crazy people or somthing.. but once i understood it better i realized i really do have it.

I agree with linacat, I'm bipolar also. I rarely see a manic state, which is where you feel you can conquer the world, but when it hits, I'm on top of the world, then within minutes sometimes, I'm down at the bottom of depression. This is my experience with bipolar. I would take your meds just to see if they help. They won't hurt. Good luck, and take care.

There are 2 types of Bipolar. Bipolar 1.
and Bipolar II. Bilpolar 1 is marked by
cycling between mania(high intensity talking, too much energy, inability to sleep) and depression (loss of interest in life).. Then there is rapid cycle Bi-polar. You swing from one mood to the other rapidly. Happy - sad - polar to polar.
But Bi-Polar Ii.. you don't necessary have the mania you just have different degrees of depression.
I agree with you... I am not a doctor by work with psyche patients. I see way too may, Bipolar and ADD diagnosis - simply because I think it is easiest to lump them in, give them a label and write a Rx.
This by the way is also treating the symptoms and not the cause.
Hope that helps.

The easiest way I've found to explain bipolar is extreme mood swings however.....the difference between being "moody" and BP is that you are either at an extreme high (talk lots, feel extatic, full of motivation and generally bouncy) and at the other end of the table is the extreme lows which is like a very severe depressive state. There is NO in between, there is no "sliding" into one state from another.

Remember in maths where you learned the sine wave curve? It's like that but the curves at the top and bottom are more like spikes (like what you see on a heart monitor kind of).

The difference in BP1, BP2, BP mixed and BP rapid cycling is the length in time between the spikes....sometimes it's months and sometimes it can be a matter of days or hours.

BP's tend to be quite aggressive at times and apparently are bad with money although that's not always the case.

You can always try the NAMI website for more info.

Can you contact the person who diagnosed you, and ask them why they think you are bipolar?

Here is some information I have about it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOf...



Generally speaking, bipolar disorder is different from everyday highs and lows because of the extremes of the moods, and the rapid changes.
Depression symptoms - loss of energy, sadness, lack of intest in pleasurable activities (that the individual normally enjoys), withdrawing, feeling hopeless, self-reproach, excessive or inappropriate guilt. Difficulty concentrating, thoughts of death, suicide, etc. But it can also manifest by being too busy, irritable, sleep disruption, weight gain or loss,and increased activity.

Mania is evident by an increase in activity and thought, racing thoughts, increased speed of speech, less need for sleep, weight loss due to decreased appetite, risky behavior, increased "feel good" behaviors (in adults - increased sex drive, drinking, drugs, spending) I'm not sure what those symptoms would be in children.

Some of the symptoms of depression can also be seen in mania. But if you only have depression, you should only have one set of symptoms.

Bipolar disorder can itself manifest in many ways with varying degrees of severity. Usually the symptoms worsen over time. It will usually cause a great deal of disruption in a person's ability to have close relationships and to be gainfully employed for any length of time.

The two main ways Bipolar disorder presents itself, is (Md)-which is more manic than depressive, and (mD) which is more depressive than manic. Add to that the possibility of having coexisting disorders, including overlying depression on top of the depression and mania, (which often masks BP because the mania is not recognized until antidepressants are taken and that catalyzes [starts] a manic phase) or schizophrenia. Also, the swings may vary in their intensity and frequency - from occurring every several months or even years, with long periods of normal moods in between, to rapid cycling, which can happen every few minutes.

Another differentiation in bipolar disorder is bipolar I, and bipolar II. In bipolar I, the symptoms are undeniable and clearly depressive and manic. It is easily recognizable to the person who has it, and they often are hospitalized, in jail frequently, can't keep a job, etc. With bipolar II, instead of full blown mania, the afflicted person has hypomania - which is to a lesser degree than full blown mania....and is often only recognized by the friends, relatives, and coworkers of the person afflicted. After a hypomanic episode, the afflicted person often forgets they had it when they become depressed again.

So you can see why it is difficult sometimes to diagnose.










www.livejournal.com




www.webmd/diseases_and_conditions/bipolar_disorder.html

www.psycom.net/depression.central.b...

www.mentalhealth.com/dis/p20-md02.h...

www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bipolar...

www.healthyplace.com/site/tests/psy...

pdoc told me i have bp1. this means that i cycle between episodes of mania and depression with a few normal episodes between. i tend to be more on the depressive side, and the depression is usually very extreme. i have had manic episodes, and during them i am extremely energetic, talkative, self-confident, require little sleep, and do things like paint the whole house or be determined to solve my family's problems...basically, extreme moods. i am usually depressed, though. BP is different for everyone.

There is a bipolar community here that you can join too. Don't know, it might help to take a look?

For #5.....there are 4 classes of BP not 2