Am I bipolar? If you have any idea(health professional) or have it yourself/have loved one who does PLZ read?

Question

I have been diagnosed with depression/anxiety disorders but, I think I might have been misdiagnosed. At times I really, really feel good and like I can't sit still. I have this adventurous streak about me and am really into taking care of myself and my looks and feel good about myself. At other times, I'm just flat out depressed and kind of hopeless. When I hear/see childhood/family things (shows, pics, stories), I melt down and cry for long times once I can get in private. The only thing that keeps me going is that I am a sr in college so I HAVE to get out of bed & go to class and do work so I can GRADUATE. But when I am down, I don't do as much- go through the motions, sit there dead in class, etc. I only see hope bc I grad. May 11,otherwise life seems like there's nothing at time. But at other times, I am wildly happy (& irritable sometimes too) & feel like I own the world. I think I might be bipolar bc it runs in my fam. My sis has it. I'm going to my DR Mon morning to ask for help

Answer 1

It's not a dumb idea to ask the doc about it! You might have Bipolar II where the manias aren't so wild (only get hypomania). I have to say, when I am hypomanic, everyone else seems REALLY lazy, and I only sleep like 5 hours a night, and that's plenty. Normally I need like 9 hours. And I'm overly familiar with others, so far as conversations go. I would say very reduced need for sleep is a major characteristic of mania of any kind.

Good luck talking to the doc! Remember to take any diagnosis with a grain of salt-people are misdiagnosed more often than they are diagnosed correctly.

Answer 2

Bipolar seems to be a difficult disease to diagnose and once a diagnosis is made, then the medicine that is used to control the side symptoms is even harder to find. Good luck on your journey.

Answer 3

I have lot of experience with bipolar.
You need a good psychiatrist to diagnose you. There is plenty of help out there.