How do you KNOW if some one is Bi-POLAR???

Answer 1

People suffering from bi-polar have 2 very different emotions that they exhibit, thus the name bi-polar.
At one moment they may be joyously happy and bouncing around the room. The next they will be manicly depressed, and in some cases suicidal.

The best thing to do if you think someone is bi-polar is take them to a psychiatrist. They can do many personality tests and interviews with the patient to determine their mental health status.

Another thing to point out, it that they will swear blind they do not have a problem. Don't believe them. If they are very close to you, you will have seen a change in their personality that will indicate something is wrong.
If you have to, drag them to the doctor because they do need help!

Answer 2

Observation is a pretty good indicator. People who are bipolar can have a variety of symptoms., There are a few forms of bipolar disorder and it can manifest itself differently in different age groups. Generally a person who is manic may display the following symptoms:
mood swings( also know as emotional lability)
irritabilty ( they fly off the handle easily)
increased energy
decreased need for sleep ( sometimes they don't sleep for days or only sleep for an hour or 2 a night)
poor judgement ( they may spend huge amounts of money, say, buying things with money they need to pay the rent)
risky behavior(engage in dangerous activities most of us would know better than to do)
decreased appetite, OR increased appetite (it can vary)
they may self medicate with alcohol or other depressants, like pot, to make them feel less racey
the other side of mania is depression; this may cause the following symptoms:
increased need for sleep OR difficulty sleeping
feelings of worthlessness, helplessness, hopelessness
decreased energy
increased OR decreased appetite
thoughts of suicide or self harm
no motivation to do anything

Bipolar Disorder can be mild and the person will only display some of the symptoms, and not severe symptoms, or it can be so extreme that the person requires hospitalization. Diagnosis needs to be done by a qualified professional, such as a Psychiatrist, Psychologist, or a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. Diagnosis can only be made after the person has a clear episode of mania.

Answer 3

Well, if they have been diagnosed by a psychiatrist, then that's a good sign. Other than that you can draw your own conclusions once you know a little about the illness.

OK, so it's a mood disorder and a serious mental illness. It has a strong genetic component, but appears to be triggered environmentally. There are no diagnostic tests for it, just psychiatric evaluation. Most sufferers are not diagnosed until middle age, and it takes an average of around 8-10 years to get a correct diagnosis. In recent years bipolar dosorder has become an 'in' diagnosis, and many more people are being diagnosed at younger and younger ages.

It is characterised by episodes of severe clinical depression and mania or hypomania (for definitions of those, see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/current_diagnostic_criteria_for_bipolar_disorder The extreme end of mania often turns into psychosis, complete with hallucinations and delusions. During manic phases, the persons judgement and perception of reality is severely compromised, leading to risky actions with potentially damaging consequences (financially, sexually and relationship-wise). Untreated, episodes generally worsen over time due to an effect known as kindling. Untreated Bipolar sufferers are at a very high risk of suicide: 20-25% attempt it, and and 15% succeed.

The cycles in bipolar disorder are much longer than people generally believe. Anyone whose mood changes from minute to minute is very unlikely to be bipolar. Bipolar 1 is characterised by mood episodes lasting many months, while Bipolar 2 has episodes in the region of weeks to months. Rapid and ultra-rapid cycling bipolar disorder is rare, and cycles last days to weeks.

There are many drugs available to treat the symptoms of bipolar (there is no cure). These are either anti-convulsants or anti-psychotics (personally I take both), and the most famous of these is Lithium. Most patients will go through a number of different drugs before finding one that works for them.

Answer 4

The only way to know for sure is if they have been assessed by a psychiatrist or a psychologist, and are given this diagnosis. Don't believe people who say that doctors give this diagnosis without good cause.

Most people who have bipolar disorder will deny that they have this illness, especially if they are in it's manic phase. People who have this illness have episodes of both depression and episodes of mania. The time between these episodes and the intensity of these episodes vary greatly.

I have seen patients who would spend months in either phase and people who would cycle from depressed to manic and back again, within minutes.

Answer 5

I am bi-polar. There are different cases of it depending on how bad it is.
I knew something was wrong when i started losing all my friends one by one. My moods were always going from one extreme to the next. Mood swings were very bad. Started not being able to sllep. Was not even tired. I could stay up for days. One minute I was happy, the next I was beating the hell out of something. Loved my man, then hated my man....etc. Very anxious then very nervous. Felt high, then very tired.

I guess one of the biggest signs would be mood swings. Alot of them very quickly.

Answer 6

Hi -

It's only fair to suspect someone has an illness when they are displaying known signs or symptoms of a disease.
We could lay out a number of signs of Bipolar, but there are other diseases which mimick bipolar such as certain thyroid conditions.

Do not automatically assume someone has an illness because he /she is displaying signs/symptoms - Leave it for the doctor to diagnose and know for sure. In this case you are asking about the signs and symptoms of Bipolar disease - only a Psychiatrist should screen for this.

Try to avoid on line assessment tools or well intentioned opinions of laymen. Go directly to the Psychiatrist.

Answer 7

They start to think they don't require sleep, stsay up for a weekend at a time, then days and days at a time, and then they crash,,,,,during any of this time, they talk fast, think they don't need much food, and think they accomplish more....when in actuality they are not focused, don't do quality work, and are nasty to others because they are not working fast!

When they crash, they are totally out of steam,sometimes require hospitalization....and are put on medication.
The worst part is when they think they are smarter than the doctor, and stop taking the medication, then the whole cycle starts again!

Answer 8

You only really know if they have been diagnosed by a professional, but, the symptoms are that they have bouts of depression and mania-

Depression is being unhappy and sad, having low energy, losing interest in thing that they once enjoyed, low sex drive, sleeping a lot, etc.

Mania is 'being on top of the world', having lots of energy, not sleeping much or at all, doing risky things, spending a lot of money, racing thoughts, etc.

Answer 9

they have mood swings like one day they will reall really happy and then may be for the next2 or 3 days they could really really moody and upset.

some ppl have different things like 1 friends i know would spend all her money on things she did not need

I have Bi Polar and i have pills that control my mood swings

Answer 10

Watch the movie Mr. Jones for a good example of Bipolar disorder.

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