So a lot of us have comorbid anxiety disorders. I see a lot of bipolar+GAD or bipolar+OCD. However, I'm talking about GAD in specific, not OCD.

Anyway...

Although mood episodes can have a profound effect on our anxiety levels and the types of anxieties we experience, I wonder if chronic anxiety is actually a symptom of bipolar rather than a separate disorder. Know what I'm saying?

I'm suggesting: GAD could be a specifier of bipolar, not an actual diagnosis. For example: "Bipolar I w/ psychosis" is a real thing. So why not "Bipolar I w/ psychosis and general anxiety?"

[wildflowerchild25]

There's a lot of people who have GAD but don't have BP.

Originally Posted by wildflowerchild25

There's a lot of people who have GAD but don't have BP.

Yes, that is true, but there are a lot of people who has psychosis (psychotic disorder or schizophrenia) but don't have BP either, even though there is a psychosis specifier for BP.. I guess that's what I'mg getting at. Sorry for poor explanation.

[wildflowerchild25]

Ah ok I see what you're saying.

[99fairies]

I was diagnosed with GAD years before I was diagnosed with bipolar. But now it's part of my label.

[Shazerac]

Anxiety can be a separate disorder or it could be part of the bipolar spectrum.... it's hard to say. Diagnosis of mental disorders is not as cut and dried as it used to be.

[RainyDay107]

I was separately diagnosed with GAD (among other anxiety disorders) after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

[bioChE]

I was diagnosed with GAD many years before I was diagnosed with BP.

[xRavenx]

It's tricky, because most people I seem to know with Bipolar struggle with some form of anxiety, and it's not uncommon for the anxiety to be severe. However, GAD has its whole set of criteria. You can be diagnosed with both or just one or the other. I've been tested for GAD back in High School, and at the time I met most of the criteria. Later on, a psychiatrist told me that my anxiety (and sometimes paranoid ideation) is secondary to the Bipolar, or as a result of having the disorder. So it gets quite complicated!!

[Unrigged64072835]

I was diagnosed with GAD and depression before being diagnosed with bipolar.

[1978dd]

Originally Posted by bluebicycle

So a lot of us have comorbid anxiety disorders. I see a lot of bipolar+GAD or bipolar+OCD. However, I'm talking about GAD in specific, not OCD.

Anyway...

Although mood episodes can have a profound effect on our anxiety levels and the types of anxieties we experience, I wonder if chronic anxiety is actually a symptom of bipolar rather than a separate disorder. Know what I'm saying?

I'm suggesting: GAD could be a specifier of bipolar, not an actual diagnosis. For example: "Bipolar I w/ psychosis" is a real thing. So why not "Bipolar I w/ psychosis and general anxiety?"

Because GAD has its own specific criteria. Anxiety seems common in people with depression and bipolar disorder.

[99fairies]

My therapist thinks bipolar should be called tripolar...depression mania and anxiety.

[Travelinglady]

I've been diagnosed with both, but I think bipolar could make anxiety worse.

[WildcatVet]

I'm sure there's a great deal of overlap too. Just as a diabetic may have cardiac disease or a MS patient may have an immune disorder. I don't think GAD is necessarily a symptom of BP although many BP patients experience anxiety disorders too.

[Sunflower123]

I agree there is a great deal of overlap. My GAD was diagnosed separately as well. It is complicated. I've never thought about it. Great thread.

[liveforsummer]

Originally Posted by 99fairies

My therapist thinks bipolar should be called tripolar...depression mania and anxiety.

Certainly true for me too. Just wondering, do any of our BP friends actually NOT suffer from anxiety as well?

[scatterbrained04]

Originally Posted by liveforsummer

Certainly true for me too. Just wondering, do any of our BP friends actually NOT suffer from anxiety as well?

That's a good question!

Personally, I was diagnosed with BP and GAD in the same visit. I'm not sure which came first.

[fishin fool]

I have bipolar 2 and also have GAD, there is a great deal of overlap as others have
already said and I don't believe that doctors ever know 100% where the line is
between one and the other. My GF has GAD but does not have bipolar.
The lines can be truly blurred for many of us.

[WildcatVet]

Some day (soon I hope!) diagnostic tests will be available to give specific information about our illnesses. But even then treatment would be difficult because every individual will react to every medication differently. I think they've already developed some tests which show which antidepressants MIGHT be most therapeutic for some patients.

[franz kafka]

I have SZA and OCD, and they feel like separate disorders to me. I know this thread is about GAD but i figured I'd throw my two cents in.

[BipolaRNurse]

I have anxiety too but both of the psychiatrists I've had say it's just part of my bipolar.

[jmariah001]

I was diagnosed with BP first then years later with GAD. It seems like my anxiety has gotten worse the past couple of years.

[dshantel]

I've been diagnosed bipolar 2, social anxiety and also adjustment disorder with anxiety and depressed mood. I always wonder if the adjustment disorder wasn't there would the social anxiety go away or if bipolar wasn't there would there still be an adjustment disorder and vise versa. They don't really explain whether or not they are dependent on the other or acting alone.

[*Laurie*]

I was told by a pdoc a few years ago that my severe anxiety is a 'dysphoric mania' and is part of the bipolar diagnosis.

Who really knows.