[UpDownAround]

All these question threads lately got me thinking about this. We are described as bipolar because sometimes we are depressed and sometimes manic, or for type IIs like myself, hypomanic. Those are our two poles, right?

Except the anxiety/paranoia isn't really either of those and it seems like most of us experience some beyond what is neurotypical. Dissociation? OK, maybe a little. Delusions? Sometimes. Substance abuse? I'm all over that. Attention deficit? Can you repeat that last question? I don't hallucinate but many of us do. Is there anything that isn't common?

Bipolar is the cafeteria style mental disorder.

[Tucson]

Some of the disorders that you are listing with bipolar are called comorbid disorders. It is possible to have more than one diagnosis that is frequently found with BP. I think GAD may be one of them. FWIW

[UpDownAround]

I think they are all part of the same overall imbalance. I guess I kind of get having all the separate ones listed so if you go from provider to provider they will have some idea what they are dealing with. I feel like bipolar disorder is my primary, though my social awkwardness that might be HFA runs neck and neck sometimes. I do feel like that is different. But these others seem like symptoms more than separate disorders.

[winter loneliness]

I rarely get anxiety or panic disorders. So for me, it isn't part of my bipolar.

[liveforsummer]

It's a regular buffet of symptoms!

[Wander]

Along with co-morbid disorders there are other BP states such as mixed episodes, anxiety, and psychosis. I previously had bad PTSD so it was difficult to tell my symptoms apart sometimes, but now I only have BP I see the anxiety, agitation, irritability, psychosis, rages, and things like dissociation as part of the diagnosis.

I read in bp magazine that post-manic anxiety is considered by many to be a third phase of bipolar disorder.

DSM-VI will describe tripolar disorder. Remember who told you.

[winter loneliness]

Originally Posted by Lefty the Salesman

I read in bp magazine that post-manic anxiety is considered by many to be a third phase of bipolar disorder.

DSM-VI will describe tripolar disorder. Remember who told you.

BP magazine is very informative.

[UpDownAround]

Originally Posted by Lefty the Salesman

I read in bp magazine that post-manic anxiety is considered by many to be a third phase of bipolar disorder.

DSM-VI will describe tripolar disorder. Remember who told you.

post-manic? When I get anxiety, it is usually while depressed and often is paranoia (because depression alone isn't bad enough?).

Originally Posted by Lefty the Salesman

I read in bp magazine that post-manic anxiety is considered by many to be a third phase of bipolar disorder.

DSM-VI will describe tripolar disorder. Remember who told you.

and now I know why it's called bipolar to begin with.

you learn something new every day

[Shazerac]

My bipolar symptoms seem to be all over the map. Sometimes down, other times up, anxiety on occasion, murderous lava flows of rage, sometimes I seem to be a bit ADD. When I get get to the ADD phase I think I'm just overwhelmed and can't handle one more thimble full of thoughts, other people's input or lack of understanding. It gets so bad that I reach the point where I think "I have have to hear 1 more bit of trivia out of your mouth I'm gonna hurt you!" This happens a lot with my husband because he is a Fox News junkie, and just loves to brighten my day by informing me of the latest horrible thing that happened in the world. (I deliberately avoid the news.)

Comorbid/dual/triple diagnosis can exist, true. Personally I try not to get caught up in it. No matter what my diagnosis du jour is, they are going to throw the same meds at me anyway. The dosage may vary but it's all the same at the end of the day....(in my opinion)

[UpDownAround]

One I definitely see affected by bipolar is PTSD. A person with bipolar disorder will likely deal with trauma much differently than a neurotypical. So, it isn't part of the disorder but they seem to mix rather than being distinct. But this is my impression as a person who does not have PTSD. As an aside, when my t was doing my mental health inventory/assessment, I was surprised at a few of the things on the list of traumas and she mentioned that some of them seemed to be more prevalent with another disorder that amplified the trauma.

[WildcatVet]

I think even **normal** people have these same **symptoms**, just not nearly to the same degree we do. Well, maybe not hallucinations....