When were you diagnosed

My name is Justine and I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, GAD, PTSD, and PMDD almost two years ago. I spent the majority of my twenties spiraling out of control and after the murder of my brother I had a complete mental break down and have been trying to rebuild myself ever since... I came here because I want to share my story, my struggles, insecurities... I don't have anyone else... I'm a social misfit and a somewhat lovable pariah in my own family. I just want someone to understand...

Welcome to Psych Central and the bipolar forum, MsManicMondays! I'm glad you joined us. I've been here on PC for a long time and find it a great place to learn, share, get support, and make friends. I hope you will, too.

I'm so extremely sorry about your brother! It is a horrible thing that happened to him, you and your family, and his friends. It is traumatic to have a loved one taken so suddenly and so young. My family and I know a little about such things, though in our case it was from depression (suicide) and cancer.

I came and went to various doctors in my youth, and experienced many issues relating to past manias and depressions, but wasn't properly diagnosed until I was 32. I didn't accept the diagnosis until I was 34.

I was first dx’d at 18 but I laughed in the dr’s face. I spent a year destroying my life and those around me. I finally thought I was “cured” after a round of ECT when I was 19. I got married, had a baby, and finished my college degree in the next six years. Then when I was 25 my life fell apart again. I was dx’d BP1 (although I still doubt I’ve ever had a true manic episode, though I’ve definitely had psychosis). I finally accepted it in 2014. I’m doing quite well now.

I've been diganoised many times. The first back in the 80's. Been a long road to stability.

Welcome! The name Justine is enchanting.

Diagnosed...I started being diagnosed at age 23...anxiety, depression. Somewhere along the line "manic-depression" came along...which turned into bipolar disorder...now I'm 57. Ha, the question is more like when haven't I been diagnosed.

Welcome to the forum! Hope you find it helpful

I was dx'd with Bipolar Type 1 w/ Psychotic features when I was 18 then right after that it changed over to Schizoaffective Disorder Bipolar type, and it's been that ever since (I'm almost 26 now)

Welcome to Psych Central!

I'm 48 (in a couple weeks) and was diagnosed at 33 with PMDD then I saw a psychiatrist and was diagnosed with bipolar Not Otherwise Specified. Eventually I was diagnosed with bipolar 1. Now its changed to schizoaffective. I toggle back and forth between bp1 and sza. Before PMDD I was diagnosed with depression- that lasted at least 8 years before my bp diagnosis.

I was diagnosed as BP NOS at around 45.

Depression and anxiety at age 17......in 20s was dxd with bipolar and now
It’s sza

I had my first manic-psychotic episode at 16. It lasted from May to August and went completely unrecognized because my parents were battling their own severe mental illnesses and I fell through the cracks. That episode left my brain literally fried when I started my senior year. I was a 4.0 student in all advanced placement classes. My first quarter senior year I had a 1.6 GPA. I was literally drooling on myself in the cafeteria. I had so little cognitive function left. It took until third quarter for my grades to return to my usual 4.0. I lost any friend I ever had that summer because I was so delusional and hallucinating people shunned me.

I thought the entire Boston Red Sox Baseball team lived in my bedroom and we would have long chats about strategy. I called a sports radio talk show at 2 and 3 AM every night babbling about what the team was secretly telling me. The host put up with me because I was a child, until one night I called him ten times to talk about the love letters I was getting from team members. The producer asked me if my parents knew what I was doing. I said my parents have schizophrenia and are busy which was the sad truth. I didn't sleep for almost an entire summer. I sat in my room playing the game jacks while listening to west coast baseball games. I believed that the faster I scooped the jacks the more home runs my team would hit. I literally bloodied my hands playing jacks for 8 hours straight a night. I believed the game had magic powers.

If any of you have teen age children, don't ignore the early signs of mania. I wasn't treated till I was 29. I had a ton of other issues that were unavoidable, my bipolar disorder could have been dealt with in my teenage years and I'd have had one less complicating illness to contend with as I entered my 20s. Please, pay attention to subtle bipolar symptoms in your teenage children. You can protect them from a lot of damage later in life.

I didnt get my Bipolar label until 43, so 10 years ago .. Looking back at my life? Bipolar was HUGE... I think in my case Id only seek help when really depressed , Id drag myself to a Pdoc and they would put me on an AD which would pop me back up out the hole and Id get tired of taking the pill down the road , dump it and be okay for a month or close to a year.. it varied..

My daughter was diagnosed at age 19.... 3 months after I was diagnosed.. Im glad she found out early,, I had decades of crap to process and learn how to let mistakes I made go, learn to find compassion for myself,. She made mistakes of course but she has built up alot of coping skills and has more self awareness, she does struggle with episodes of course

Lots of people think Bipolar is far over diagnosed, while I believe in many cases that it can be , But we have so much information at our finger tips people are seeking help sooner rather than later..

Im sorry you have gone through such loss, I cant imagine.

You will find tons of support here Welcome to PC

When I was 13. I didn’t understand what it was back then. I understood the ODD diagnosis which was dropped when I was 16, and I kind of understood the clinical depression diagnosis both I got at the same time as the bipolar. It was confusing though.

I was showing several distinct symptoms when I was around the same age of 13.

I was 17 when I was first diagnosed with psychosis NOS, 18 when diagnosed with bipolar I, and 22 when that changed to schizoaffective