Am I bipolar?

Am I bipolar? Am I showing bipolar symptoms?

There are many reasons for asking this question. Some common ones include:

1. You may have taken a bipolar test.

2. You may have learned about major bipolar symptoms such as pronounced mood swings and identified with the picture, thinking "this is me".

3. You may have read some information on bipolar disorder and be worried about your seemingly "bipolar" behavior.

5. You may have been labeled "bipolar" by someone else, whether they have reliable info on bipolar or not.

6. You may identify with one or more of the many famous people with bipolar disorder, again thinking "this is me" or "this explains everything".

7. You may have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder by a psychiatrist, your family doctor, or some other expert.

8. You may have received some other diagnosis, for example depression, ADHD or borderline personality disorder and be finding that your medication and other treatment is not helping.

Don't get over-invested in the diagnosis and don't fall into the trap of "am I bipolar" as the current great existential question.

Am I bipolar is not a matter of existential angst, or a fashion choice. It is a health issue and the best thing you can do is:

1. Educate yourself with objective and high quality info on bipolar such from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): Bipolar Symptoms and Info on Bipolar.

2. See a psychiatrist who is board certified in the area and who has considerable expertise in the diagnosis of bipolar symptoms and the treatment of mood disorders.

3. Educate yourself on the differences between "ordinary", "classic", unipolar depression and bipolar depression symptoms.

Bipolar disorder self test

One of the ones I particularly like is the Black Dog Institute's Bipolar disorder self test.

See also: "I want to be bipolar".

Any preconceived notions you have about bipolar symptoms and your diagnosis will distort the results. This is why the checklist approach, in combination with self-reporting, can never yield a result that does not require further confirmation.

There is no physical bipolar test, such as a blood test for bipolar. Also, there is no genetic testing for bipolar disorder. In other words, You cannot take a definitive, objective bipolar test.

Moving beyond the bipolar test

I actually have several of these on this Bipolar Lives website, and encourage anyone who has ever asked "Am I bipolar?", or who suspects a mood disorder in someone close to them, to take at least one, and probably two or three.

However, at the end of the day these are still just checklists based on self-reporting. They are guidelines, not definitive info on bipolar disorder in you or anyone else.

Bipolar Disorder or Bipolar Syndrome?

Anyone who scores positive on such a test needs to consult with an expert immediately. Preferably this would be a board certified expert psychiatrist with extensive experience in bipolar and other mood disorders.

One reason for this is to get treatment, such as a prescription for a mood stabilizing medication.

However, getting medication is a secondary reason.

The main reason is to CONFIRM THE DIAGNOSIS!

A skilled clinician will do much more than administer a paper and pencil checklist. As well as tests just like the bipolar tests we have just looked at, there needs to be a conversation.

Only an expert has have enough experiential info on bipolar to recognize genuine bipolar symptoms.

This will involve various techniques and elements, depending on the doctor. All of them will probably ask about family history and your family members as bipolar disorder has a strong genetic component. EVERY expert should ask you about POSSIBLE, as well as diagnosed, bipolar family members.

Many professionals may ask you to bring along a trusted third person who knows you very well and over a long period of time. This helps to confirm certain bipolar symptoms, to fill in blanks, help you remember important info on bipolar from your Dr, and to help you by providing further perspective.

Another important technique in diagnosing bipolar is the Life Chart. Having the trusted third person present can be most useful in creating the Life Chart. This chart is a diagram that starts at birth and records significant life events alongside a mood scale. In this way it is possible to get an overall picture of both mood episodes and other bipolar symptoms, and possible triggers for episodes of depression and mania.

My own bipolar diagnosis happened through pure chance. My psychiatrist and I both believed I had major depression and also acute anxiety. In passing I mentioned some shopping I had done on the weekend. When my shrink discovered that I had spend over $5,000 (I was a full time grad student at the time and should have been living frugally) on exquisite European furniture for my crappy one bedroom student housing, there was a diagnostic breakthrough.

This kind of irrational spending spree is a classic symptom of mania. It didn't take long to uncover many other manic episodes and my diagnosis was finally accurate and helpful. I have never looked back!

Bipolar behavior

(The correct or PC term is actually "a person living with bipolar disorder, or the more traditional "a person living with manic depressive illness".)

First and foremost there are bipolar feelings and moods - and of course mood swings.

There are also what we could call "bipolar thoughts".

And as those of us who have lived with bipolar for a while know, there is that pesky (sometimes ruinous) bipolar behavior.

A reliable diagnosis requires a very careful balance of examining all three of feelings, thoughts, and bipolar behavior.

Although there is an inner experience of mood that is possibly the ultimate arbiter of "Am I Bipolar?", focusing to some extent on potential bipolar behavior is inevitable because this is what is measurable and observable to other people - and what will create serious and destructive real world consequences if not addressed.

The main danger of misdiagnosis arises because bipolar behavior can closely resemble other mental health conditions, for example:

1. Bipolar Depression Symptoms

2. the ADHD Bipolar Disorder connection.

3. Borderline Personality Disorder.

Researchers at Rhode Island discovered that many patients diagnosed as bipolar actually had borderline personality disorder instead. In fact, it appears to be becoming one of the most common misdiagnosis traps.

How to tell? Bipolar disorder is episodic, whereas borderline personality is a more pervasive and constant state.

After beginning treatment, Am I Bipolar? will answer itself in that if mood stabilizers make you "better", (remove bipolar symptoms) then it is probably the underlying condition.

However, consider that if the traditional bipolar disorder treatment of mood stabilizers does not help, then maybe the answer to Am I Bipolar? is a possible "no".

Also don't lose sight of the fact that there are two aspects of bipolar disorder signs and symptoms - the INTERNAL mood states you experience as your bipolar symptoms and the observable SIGNS of bipolar - the external behavior that is displayed by your actions.

You need to track both with a mood chart and discuss BOTH with a medical expert to properly answer "Am I bipolar?"

Bipolar disorder quiz

When it comes to what you know, is your head full of facts or fallacies?

Test your bipolar IQ and make sure you are not buying into to any myths or misconceptions: Bipolar Disorder Quiz.

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