Is there anyone who?

Got a few things i'm wondering.

1. Is Bipolar 1 and has never had CRIPPLING DEPRESSION.

2. Is Bipolar 2 and has been completely MANIC not hypomanic.

3. Was bipolar 2 and then became bipolar 1, or vice versa.

4. Suddenly developed Rapid cycling bipolar with no previous symptoms of any bipolar at all.

5. Has Bipolar and doesnt relate to Borderline Personality Disorder apart from the obvious things. Mood swings, suicidal tendencies etc.

6. Gone 2 years without even worrying or thinking about the fact they're bipolar and it not effecting their lives and having no episodes. with or without meds.

7. Has never ever drank alcohol, taken drugs, been addicted to anything or had a nasty experience in their life, got bipolar?

I wonder this sort of thing all the time.
The reason for question 7, i understand that bipolar is more nature than nurture, but i can help thinking that if i had a rounded balanced, nice, cosy little life and was a really good, lovely, person i wouldnt be bipolar.

I am bipolar I and have never had a crippling depression. actually I rarely get depressed I have more manic episodes.

Well thats interesting. I didnt know that was the case. Just read something about it on Wiki saying Bipolar didnt necessarily mean depression.

Though people might have a tendency to get BP by nature, I have yet to meet a BP person who has not had significant trauma of some sort. Any exceptions out there?

I dont feel i have had a significant trauma, more lots of small trauma's, but i feel that these were caused my the fact that i'm not a normal person.
My Dad died on my first birthday thought, which is a trauma, but i never felt it at the time.

My bipolar was brought out by the loss of my twin girls 19 years ago.

I'm so sorry Astone.

Thank you

Widgets,

Hey there..... I have had a good life. No trauma at all, have never touched drugs, have both parents alive and well, no real illnesses in the family, I have never been really ill but depression has over took my life since I was 13 and that has lead to my bipolar being diagnosised. No one in my family has BP either which sucks as sometimes I really need someone in RL to talk to who isn't a professional!

its a mad world, with so many rules, unwritten

Regarding #2, I think by definition, anyone who's ever had an episode of full mania would receive a diagnosis of Bipolar I? Which means that a diagnosis of BP-II can be "upgraded" to BP-I, but BP-I can never be "downgraded" to BP-II.

I have LOTS of bipolars and anxiety disorders in my family but still can't talk to them because they don't think they have a problem. Just me. It really sucks. Because I could diagnose them all.

For me, bipolar disorder is genetic. I truly believe I've had it all my life Even though I was diagnosed fairly young (18 for depression and 23 for bipolar), I remember times when I was a young child and having bouts of depression and not knowing what the heck was really wrong with me. I have a few members of my immediate family with bipolar.

I think thats right.... though I think it can be hard to tell where the line between BPI and BPII is drawn, where does a hypomania end and a full blown mania start.

My pattern of illness is more BP II with the more severe depressions rather than manias, but I don't know if I've crossed the line with my highs... don't care either - its just a name....

Cause: no major traumas to start off my BP... jut a fairly normal relationship break up... maybe a bit to much alcohol, but not more than any other college kid!!! some family history of mental illness but not specifically BP...

Thats exactly the same as me.
I tried to kill myself when i was 10! So luckily for me, when i got diagnosed with depression at 19, my doc was able to look back through my notes and basically see that i had cycling depression, she referred me to the right team and now at 21 i've just been diagnosed with Bipolar.

I was diagnosed at 17. Could have been sooner symptoms were there including psychosis. My father was later diagnosed, must be said here, we did not have a relationship. I had plenty of trauma. I can remember being depressed at age 5. I do not have a lot of BPD symptoms.

I just watched a documentary showing a few people with bipolar, some pretty severe, who had nice families, money, low stress, no trauma lives. It was interesting.

I think (but am not sure) about the real difference between mania, and hypomania is level of functioning. ??

Hypomania is different in bp1 and bp2.
Its more high functioning and positive in bp1, where as its more negative in bp2.
Thats really true for me.
When i knew nothing about bipolar except its about being happy then sad. I used to think, "i get very buzzing and manic, but its not happy."
My hypomania is only good for a few days then it turns horrible.

I have Bipolar 1, when I am manic, it maybe fun for a few days or a week, but as it gets faster and higher it is not fun. I usually get psychosis and become so agitated that I can barely care for myself and am not functioning. It usually last months. I know for me it's usually not the typical "fun" mania you read about.

I read that you dont get psychosis or 'out of control,' with hypomania and this is true for me. I may act out of character and may not want to control myself and may feel that i am totally right in what i'm doing.
For instance i had the total urge to buy 7 a4 notepads, like i felt hungry for them, i needed to put them on my coffee table and look at them and own them and i thought about them for 2 days, but i managed to not do it. I dont think mania would allow that!
Now i've bought that up thought i really want to go and buy them again. I think i might lol

haha oh no, I'm sorry. But if you do buy them I hope they are satisfying.

Yeah maybe not, I just realized I bought two flat screen t.v.'s, and a bunch of other stuff. I didn't even really realize I did, but now that I am not manic, I am just "OMG". Not really realizing it , let alone having the insight to stop it.

i think bipolar is much like autism, 2 people can have bipolar but they could be completely different. There is no black and white, its very complicated.
I did once go to Next in a manic state and ordered some stuff that wasnt in stock, i lived on my own at the time and took myself severely overdrawn by doing this, then i totally forgot i had ordered them and didnt pick them up until 3 months later. its a funny story to tell though, plus the shoes i bought are literally mountainous and i cant walk in them at all and i dont really even like them :/ still have them thought. i think

there is no black and white and it is a spectrum. However, many rely on the very strict criteria of the DSM-VI. I am BP2 and have severe, severe depression and nothing like the true definition of mania. I was recently (last week) diagnosed with Treatment Refractory Depression aka Treatment Resistant Derpression bc I do not respond to any medication and never have. The Neuro Psych who evaluated me said I Major Depressive Disorder and was not BP2. Smart guy, but he based that on any mania and hypomania incidents I have had.
Who knows what the hell I have. I am depessed and anxious all the time.

I find that the more I read the less I know about the difference between hypomania and mania. Karla Dougherty in her book "Less than Crazy" says that for BP II the hypomania shows up as anxiety. I can be depressed and anxious at the same time. Is that then a mixed episode? And when I'm hypomanic I feel great and take on big projects, go into business, spend money, etc. etc. Am I BP I then instead of BP II? I've never hallucinated etc., is that the difference between BP I and BP II? It's all really confusing. I know I've been this way since the age of 14, maybe earlier. (I'm now 57 and was just diagnosed June 30). John McManamy at www.mcmanweb.com believes that anti-depressants may cause BP. He talks about the various versions of the DSM and how the diagnostic criteria have changed over the years.
Frankly, I'm confused as heck.

I have read tons and tons, trying to get all the info I can over several years.

From what I understand hypomania, is elevated, and euphoric still, but still able to actually be quite productive and have some control, and the episodes does not last too long. Mania, is same thing elevated, euphoric, just to a higher degree, making the person less productive after a short period, and loss of ability to take control at all, psychosis maybe present and episode lasts longer. Depression and anxiety together, well would not be hypomania because of the depressed mood, mixed mood maybe, depression with with anxiety. Anxiety and agitation can go hand in hand with any mental illness or no mental illness at all. It is the body's way of dealing with stress. I'm not saying this as the gospel , this is just they way I understand it.

The DSM-VI is does not cover every aspect, it's a bit narrow, and leaves a lot of room for questions. To me it seems bipolar wears many masks and is very good at morphing itself at any given time. I have read many books that have wrong or misleading info in them, so just because it's published does not mean it is accurate.

"Specifically, hypomania is distinguished from mania by the absence of psychotic symptoms and grandiosity, and by its lesser degree of impact on functioning. Hypomania is a feature of bipolar II disorder and cyclothymia, but can also occur in schizoaffective disorder . Hypomania is also a feature of bipolar I as it arises in sequential procession as the mood disorder fluctuates between normal mood and mania. Hypomania can occur when moods progress downwards from a manic mood state to a normal mood. Hypomania is sometimes credited with increasing creativity and productive energy."

this is from the wikipedia but I think it gives the general gist of it. That being said, who here experiences just what the text book says

I have BP1 and do experience deep depressions, hypomania and full mania with delusions and psychosis. I just had a med. adjustment and got double vision from it. I had to stop it and now I am going higher and higher and it's really scary. I am waiting for my APRN to get back to me to get another mood stablizer. As to question #7, I used to drink and do drugs to self-medicate myself. I don't believe it caused my biploar was caused by it. I believe I was self-medicating with it.