Am I bipolar?

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I've come to realize; one moment, I feel like I can take on the world and fulfill my dream of marriage, and the next, I don't feel as hopeful. Does this make me bipolar? Because I have been wondering for a while now.....

It depends on who you talk to. Some people think that periodic moodiness means you're at least a "little bit" bipolar while others say that's total BS, that you need to have the full manic or mixed episode (meaning it lasts at least 7 days without stopping, and you are clearly different from how you usually are and in a way that is very shockingly visible to others) before you are truly bipolar (of course, there are also hypomania and depression). Bipolar diagnosis is screwed up in this country and one doctor might think just about everything's bipolar while others may have more restrictive definitions.

Either way, we can't diagnose here.

^ So I guess it's hard call, eh?

sounds normal to me.

This is what mania looks like:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA-fqvC02oM[/youtube]

I basically have bipolar disorder. I was in my first year at university and had a psychotic episode and had to leave then went through a manic episode now I'm going through depression and have been on medication and having cognitive behavioural therapy now to get fit to restart Uni. Before my psychotic episode I always had quite extreme moods and motivations but this was moderated by my family so when I went to Uni my mood just went out of control.

You're bipolar if your mood swings severely affect your overall functioning.

Wow, is that really just mania? I would have thought the guy had schizophrenia or something.

Look for how he keeps talking, including talking over the doctor, while saying he feels great, the greatest ever, and hears God talking to him. Also, the lack of a perceived need for sleep is another valuable clue, along with the amount of time the doctor discovered he was in this mood state (for at least a week).

That is mania, which earns you the diagnosis of Bipolar I Disorder.

Here's psychosis that is considered possible schizophrenia:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB28gfSmz1Y
[/youtube]

Note the different demeanor of the patient. He's not talking over the doctor and he says he feels fine except for that chip he believed MI5 to have put in his head. He's not feeling great or on top of the world, neither is he irritable; and there is a sign that he is fatigued: No mistaking, he doesn't have the increased energy that comes with mania.

It is possible he has Cyclothymia, which is like a less extreme form of bipolar, though it can develop into full blown bipolar with age. I have cyclothymia and have moderate mood swings. The manic phases tend to be full of energy and very productive and I'm very creative, more sociable, full of fun and jokes and cheerful, don't need too much sleep. The down phases I'm quite depressed and often have suicide ideation. I tend to sleep more and not have much energy and communicate very little. I can switch from up to down and vice-versa very quickly and often with only a very small trigger; sometimes I don't even know what the trigger is. I take mood stabiliser medication which helps (it is very effective and fast acting) but I only tend to take them when in a persistent down phase... I like the up phases, wish I could stay like that all the time.

^Same here,I can get twice the work done.The only draw back is I tend to over do it and tear muscles or tendons because I get obsessed with yard work.
The doc just changed my diagnosis from bi-polar NOS to bi-polar 1.

I'm sorry, but the video of the man with mania shows only one way that mania may manifest. It is less well known that mania may manifest as irritability/agitation rather than feeling great/euphoric. Certainly for people with ASD it is quite likely that excessive talking is not a part of bipolar at all (as it is not for me).

Also, hypomania (bipolar II) doesn't need to be anywhere near as emphasised as the mania of bipolar I). Hypomania may be far more subtle and really comes down to behaviour that is uncharacteristic of that person when they are feeling 'normal'/stable.

You know the saying "When you meet one person with Autism, you've met one person with Autism"? The same applies for bipolar. Everyones experience with bipolar is different and can not be captured in a single video. It is an enormously complex condition.

To the original post- If you are concerned that your moods change for what seems to be no reason, please try to speak to a doctor. Bipolar with comorbid ASD can be quite hard to diagnose, but getting the right help could change your life. Good luck to you and take care.

Need more information.

I will explain how mania affects my hopes for a relationship, even if it's just a sexual one. I'm more like it's gonna happen, I have so much confidence and think 'why wouldn't anyone like me?' Then when I become depressed I start to become very self-conscious and don't think I will be able to say anything to the person I like. Then I start thinking no one will really find me attractive. I also get eroticamania, thinking that this person loves me and we are destined to be together. It's kind of embarrassing once I come down from it. Actually it's a really awful feeling. Guilt even though no one knows about it.

Sorry to reopen an old thread but that sounds a lot like me. Periods of depression alternating with periods of euphoria but never full blown manic episodes. The intensity of the depression can vary from mild to severe to the point where I feel physically numb and I start believing all my critics. First I think I will fail in all things and then I think even if I succeed it will still be counted as failure because I'm too old. The intensity of the euphoria can almost get to the point of narcissism and involve rapid speech, rapid movement, reckless driving and making grand plans for the future.

How often does it cycle? Think of it as waves within waves within waves. Hours, days, months. There are big cycles within little cycles. In a big cycle of euphoria I could have depressed episodes that are mild, short in duration and far between and vice versa. Play a high and low pitch tone into an oscilloscope simultaneously and it would produce a graph of my mood.

I know I should get help or at least a diagnosis of whatever it is I have but when I feel depressed I don't have enough motivation to find a shrink (there are dozens in town and the GP gave me a referral then told me to find one on my own) but then I start feeling euphoric and think I don't need treatment or think "how can I tell a shrink I'm depressed when I feel happy at the moment".

^ Visit your doctor and explain all this to him, he may refer you for a more detailed exam with a shrink or diagnose cyclothymia or something else. My doctor prescribed mood stabilisers which are great if I'm down. I don't take them when I'm up.