[sprik]

Im annoyed when people think they are bipolar then they are not. This guy I used to like thinks he is bipolar. He is not. He just annoying and uses excuses for his behavior. When I share with people, ooh yeah, this person is, or I am, and your like, I don't think so..... Its not a excuse for bad behavior, personally for me its HELL, why say you are when you are not.. I don't want to admit to it.... Sorry for my rant

I get very annoyed when people use Bipolar to describe someone with moods swings. "Oh that girl is being a ***** today, she must be bipolar or something*

Drives me up the wall when undiagnosed people just say oh I have bipolar but I learned to live with it, its not that hard why cant you? When they exhibit NO symptoms besides being happy or sad or the range of normal human emotions. They just think happy means manic and sad means depressed ummm no. **** wits.

And then there are those who have had one session with a pdoc and the pdoc might mention BP and all of a sudden the patient decides they are full blown bipolar for a few years, messes with meds, then in the end finds out it was a misdiagnosis and symptoms were caused by meds. It saddens me to see so many like that on this forum.

But back to the topic, yes it really really irritates me when people say they are bipolar when they are not. When you really have bipolar it is serious.

[Blue_Bird]

I wonder what caused Bipolar to get so popular?

You don't hear people saying "Oh, I'm so Schizophrenic!"

[Moogieotter]

Some say it's over diagnosed these days. I definitely relate to the thread. Supernoa, your comments in particular about happy and sad versus manic and depressed are spot on. It can be very bothersome to those of us in the real fight.

Thanks for the thread.

moogs

It is most definitely overdiagnosed in the US. Mainly for insurance reasons and many of those diagnosed are only diagnosed that way so the insurance covers them and they dont actually have bipolar. They tend to do this a LOT for personality disorders as they are not covered by insurance to my knowledge.

I wrote a thread on here months back about the over diagnosis of BP in the US, it was a great discussion, search for overdiagnosis in the US and you might be able to find it.

[Nammu]

Ironically there's so many here that fought the Dx for years. I used to tell everyone including new Dr and T's I only had MDD. Sooner or later they would change the Dx and off I went looking for someone that would agree it was MD.

But speaking of people who make you mad saying their BP when they're not. I met this woman one time who was asking all these Qs about the symptoms of BP, I thought she was just interested in learning about it. Instead,I ran into her later and she was so messed up. She confessed to me that she had seen a doctor and convinced him she had BP so she could get meds! Why? She thought it would be cool.

[scatterbrained04]

Yes, that's is VERY irritating. Also very irritating when people will call someone else bipolar to their back either to me or in earshot of me in a demeaning way (not knowing that I am bipolar). Just because someone is being a pain in your butt right now or acting weird DOES NOT mean they are bipolar. Obviously, these people have no idea what BP people act like. We also don't all act the same. A lot of us bipolars have gotten really good at pretending to be normal anyways.

[wiretwister]

Originally Posted by sprik

Im annoyed when people think they are bipolar then they are not.

thats why i have so much trouble accepting my dx.. when my pdoc uses the following to document my "mania",,when inpatient, I will admit severe anxiety, borderline sui,very depressed and I did completely shut down for two days not even eating or socializing..really not talking at all..yes I was really messed up and it took several weeks to feel human again, but does any of that sound like mania to you...

listening here I do not even seem to come close to what I hear you guys experience...that is why I keep doubting my pdoc..making me feel like a phoney.. I'm not afraid of being MI,, just not sure I qualify..

[~Christina]

Yeah Its annoying , But I have learned to ignore the ignorance.

Supernova, Personality disorders are covered by insurance as its an acknowledged mental diagnosis.

[unikitty]

I totally get what you're saying and don't like it when people confuse regular mood changes with bipolar. Or use it as excuse esp. when they don't really have it. But I guess I was on the other end by not seeking help for a long time out of fear of just being one of those people, despite the fact that it has totally wrecked my life and important relationships multiple times and has almost killed me a few times. This is with me trying my hardest to have a successful life and sustain positive relationships, but the episodes would come along and knock everything down all the same. I finally got over my fears and doubts in order to seek help, because I got tired of all of it and wanted a chance at a happy and successful life.

I guess I'm just saying that I'm also worried about people who legitimately need help being discouraged from seeking it in the same way that I was. Thinking that you might have bipolar almost has it's own stigma, but sometimes people are right.

[Crazy Hitch]

((((sprik)))

Yes, I can totally understand why this would not be a good thing to hear.

[sprik]

Thanks everyone. . Its great to have people who completely understand... AWESOME