
Aug 19, 2014, 12:23 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nightside of Eden
The answer depends on whether you continued to have mood symptoms during those months when the bizarre delusions persisted. If yes, then Bipolar does cover all your symptoms. But if your mood was stable and the delusions continued anyway, then you're starting to fall outside the established BP symptoms.
They're only diagnosed if you have psychotic symptoms outside of a mood episode, meaning when you aren't depressed, mixed, or manic.
Well, Bipolar Disorder with psychotic features is still Bipolar Disorder (type 1 or 2). The "with psychotic features" thing is just an additional coding number doctors add to denote that feature. It's not a different diagnosis. Schizoaffective is a different diagnosis, given when psychotic features persist outside of mood episodes. Schizotypal is a personality disorder marked by persistent bizarre beliefs and behaviors but without the positive psychotic symptoms (ie hallucinations) that mark the actual psychotic disorders (hence it being classed as a personality disorder). I know you can't (or at least certainly shouldn't) be diagnosed as both Schizoaffective and Bipolar, because each diagnosis requires that the other be excluded. However, I don't know of any reason a person couldn't have both Schizotypal Personality Disorder and Bipolar.
This is completely normal. I've wondered the same thing many times and so has everyone else I know who has experienced psychosis.
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Thanks night.  you explained it well.
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