Bipolar Disorder Diagnosis

With modern day society a lot of people hear about bipolar and if they feel like they have strong mood swings believe this might be the issue. One of the biggest things with bipolar is that you are unlikely to suspect there is anything wrong because to you it is normal. Cycling typically takes weeks not days (unless you have cyclothymia). The manic phase. You will start to feel elevated, not of this world, like everyone else are ants going about their business and you are a superstar watching them. But you won't have time to watch them, you'll be wired, 24 hours a day you'll be busy planning something, undertaking a new task, a new invention, saving a major war, creating world peace, you may spend lots of money, you may think you are super rich, or have a grand scheme of how you will be super rich, you may talk so fast people cannot follow you, you may be quick to anger, you may spend hours doing fast paced exercise. You may also develop something called megalomania. You are unlikely to realise this change though, others will do and may comment on it, but you will not see it as there being anything wrong. Because of this you may get yourself into trouble, take risks, break the law. In a manic episode you may be completely out of control and The depressive phase. You will feel hopeless and worthless, empty, guilty, and tearful. You will not want to do anything, you will lose interest in the things you enjoy. You may consider suicide over and over. You may sleep more than normal or not sleep at all and you may feel constantly fatigued and not want to get out of bed. Anticipate that both these phases at their worst will prohibit you from working, during a manic phase after the initial fun phase friends will most likely start worry about you or even avoid you, during a depressive phase you will most likely avoid them. This description is for type I, type II will typically have a milder version of mania (hypomania) with severe depression. Cyclothymia is often long periods of hypomania with brief milder depressive episodes. Bipolar is considered a chemical imbalance and requires lifelong medication although some people may stabilise as they get older. The mind is a complex thing and there are dozens of conditions that could cause the issues you mentioned. Bipolar is famous but other illnesses can be just as serious and may cause as much pain and issues. As others have suggested external factors such as hormones or a thyroid problem can also cause issues and feel just as severe as bipolar. If you can I would suggest asking your doctor to take some bloods to ensure there are no underlying physical issues. Start to keep a mood diary and try to include what you have eaten as well as your monthly cycle in it as well as how you are feeling each day. Make a particular note of how you feel at each time of day. You can just ask for a referral to a therapist who could try some cognitive behavioural therapy or you can ask for a full psychiatric evaluation. Sorry I only know people in UK none in Dubai unfortunately. I hope you manage to get to the bottom of it in some ways mental health problems can be harder to deal with than physical health ones.

I'm curious as to why you think you have bipolar? Your posts feel very rational and do not suggest mania or extreme depression. You will need a full workout to exclude physical problems including thyroid dysfunction, abnormalities of metabolism, pregnancy, and then full assessment of your mental health. People with bipolar usually lack insight into their illness - it is one of the defining features so to,think you have the condition would be rate. Most affected people cannot recognise themselves as having the illness. I thought the same Tessa, the posts are very rational so suggests it is something else. It would be difficulty for someone with the illness to self diagnose. It may be more to do with hormonal imbalance, anxiety or depression. Hello Chrissy23, Thanks for your advice. Maybe it's anxiety. I am not inclined towards depression. I am a little OCD too, because some irrational things seem to get to me. For example, when I text my boyfriend, if the texts are more than a minute apart, I have to stop looking at the time stamp. Some other things like that. I'm a little hesitant about getting it checked, but I guess I have to, sooner or later. Thanks :) It may be hormonal, I don't want to be personal or pry into your private life but are you taking any form of contraceptive pill? I used to take a pill that sent my hormones all out of sync and I would fly off the handle at the slightest thing. I stopped taking the particular brand and all the strange symptoms disappeared. If it is anxiety then your healthy eating, yoga and meditation can go along way to help as well as the other holistic therapies that others have suggested. Hope you are feeling better soon.

My husband was diagnosed with bipolar 5 years ago while we still lived in Dubai. Like others have mentioned, he didn't think he had a problem! After behaving very irrationally for months I told him I thought he had bipolar, he read up on it and to my surprise agreed with me. At the time we'd been married for 10 years, I always knew he suffered from dipression but it was his manic episodes that we're getting worse every year. He saw three different psychiatrist there, they all agreed he was bipolar. He wasn't happy with the first two as they wanted to heavily medicate him and he generally avoids medications as far as possible and tries to cure himself with alternative medicine. The third doctor (I think he was called Dr Amer) was very good and his medication really worked. Of course I'm not an expert but I have read so much and watched so many documentaries about this condition that I feel I know a lot about it now. Not everyone with BP suffers with noticible manic episodes, the mania can be mild in some. However they all suffer from severe depression, this could last for days or as in my DH's case, for months. I would suggest if you go to see a specialist, don't tell them you think you've got Bipolar, tell them your symptoms and let them diagnose you.

To those commenting that the original poster may not be bipolar because the post is quite rational: bipolar disorder is nothing you will see or suspect on people unless you know them really well. It also doesn't mean a person would not be rational. They can be suicidal one day then not even understand why they felt that way the next day. Just like there are many people around you who are clinically depressed, but you would barely tell, same with this disorder. It's nothing to take lightly. Kudos for seeking help <3

I'm curious as to why you think you have bipolar? Your posts feel very rational and do not suggest mania or extreme depression. You will need a full workout to exclude physical problems including thyroid dysfunction, abnormalities of metabolism, pregnancy, and then full assessment of your mental health. People with bipolar usually lack insight into their illness - it is one of the defining features so to,think you have the condition would be rate. Most affected people cannot recognise themselves as having the illness. I thought the same Tessa, the posts are very rational so suggests it is something else. It would be difficulty for someone with the illness to self diagnose. It may be more to do with hormonal imbalance, anxiety or depression.

I'm curious as to why you think you have bipolar? Your posts feel very rational and do not suggest mania or extreme depression. You will need a full workout to exclude physical problems including thyroid dysfunction, abnormalities of metabolism, pregnancy, and then full assessment of your mental health. People with bipolar usually lack insight into their illness - it is one of the defining features so to,think you have the condition would be rate. Most affected people cannot recognise themselves as having the illness.

Great alternative to meds are carefully selected essential oils. But first you should be able (yourself or with help of a doctor) to identify what is the most probable cause (•Hormonal imbalance •Neurotransmitter imbalance •Changes to the brain •Genetics •Extreme abuse •Extreme stress •Traumatic experiences ....) to get the best suited oils or blends. Do not use cheap oils (perfume grade or synthetic) if you choose to try this alternative Meditation is another great way to address bipolar disorder. A friend with this disorder also started to write poetry as a means of help, but I understand that might not the for everybody - but it's an example how different people cope :)

please keep in mind that everyone reacts to meds differently and if you do need to go on the strong meds then the Dr. can adjust if needed. You might also look to your diet and see if there is anything you are eating that your body reacts to and could be causing the symptoms. Good luck, hope you get the answers you need :)

Got it can remove now and will drop you a line.

Silveralex - absolutely recommend thyroid test and go from there, post your contact details if you wish and I will drop you a line.

Silveralex have you had your thyroid tested?

Dr hamdan is good - he diagnosed my sister in law who was severely bi polar for many years and had to be sectioned finally !! the medication however is too strong to be honest ..her conditioned improved but med has too many side effects but thats just my opinion ..