[silver_moon]

I'm not diagnosing myself and I know none of you can either, I need to talk to my doc. But, how do you know whether you are depressed or bipolar?
I know the main characteristic of someone who's depressed is low feelings and the main for bipolar is a mixture of feeling depressed, but also manic etc

But how do you define the manic part? Lately I've been so confused 'cause at times I can be really high and I feel buzzed, but I don't feel like I'm 'here'... but it comes as quick as it goes and for the main part I'm deeply depressed.
I don't really know how to describe the way I feel... but I know that you can feel happy sometimes when you're depressed... but the way I feel isn't happy?
I don't really now how to explain, my heads all over the place and nothing has seemed to sink in at all lately... think tonight's the first night I've ever really been able to think about anything, to feel half normal.

Could anyone just explain the manic part of bipolar for me (I am going to speak to my doctor about how I've been), just be nice to get some insight?

Thanks,
Molly

(oh... and I know you can't use this as a diagnosis, but I got 53 in the bipolar quiz on pc)

[lostandscared54]

Hello there. You may be experiencing hypomanic or even mixed episodes. Bipolar is not only straight up or down, it has some other stages as well. While you are possilbly manic, do you talk reallly fast? Think faster than your brain can handle? Spend more money than you intented to? You can google enough on biploar and manic episodes to quench your thirst, but only a Doc can troubleshoot. Good luck.

[AnnHertel]

I have written journals while I have been manic, or mixed (dysphoric mania). they should be tagged on the blog page. reading those will give you a fairly good insight to how my mind works during those phases. I would try to tell you right now... but since I am not in that zone it won't as accurate.

best,
Ann

[madisgram]

when i used to get manic everything seemed brighter...and i would pick out bright clothes..like way too bright. my closet looked like two people put their clothes in there!
now for the more serious side..my mind would race a mile a minute, i didn't need much sleep either but didn't feel tired (til i later crashed)...doc told me that for every manic episode i had there would be an equal low following and that seemed to be true for me. i found that i did not make wise decisions when manic-too impulsive. i would make unnecessary purchases and would later look at them and wonder why i had thought that was a good idea. i'd talk too fast and couldn't really concentrate on anything, like trying to read a book.
once i was put on a mood stablilizer things got much better and my swings were much more subtle. i still have some mania sometimes but not anywhere near what i used to have before i got on the stablizers.
now i know each of us that are bipolar have to be treated as an individual case but this is what has worked for me.
it's a good idea to talk with your pdoc like you said. it just may mean that they give you something to help those swings. by the way, the term they used on me was that i was a "rapid cycler" meaning i had a lot of mood swings throughout the day. it felt like i was a yo-yo. that depressed me cause i didn't feel like i had any control over my life.
i'm sure they can help you get better. hang in there and let us know how it goes.
have a good day!!!

[Slothrop]

If your condition dramatically improves on bipolar meds, that's a good suggestion that you're bipolar...

If your symptoms aren't clear-cut, it can be all but impossible to tell without a psychiatrist, and sometimes even they have to make nitpicky distinctions to reach a diagnosis. In my case, it was the persistent insomnia for the first two or three hours of the night that told my doctor I was bipolar. Lo and behold, drugs like Lamictal and lithium and Abilify worked much better than antidepressants alone to get me functioning (more or less) again.

Not that anyone expects you to start popping lots of different pills to find out. Just that the success of my meds corroborated the doc's diagnosis.

[Michah]

Originally Posted by silver_moon

I'm not diagnosing myself and I know none of you can either, I need to talk to my doc. But, how do you know whether you are depressed or bipolar?
I know the main characteristic of someone who's depressed is low feelings and the main for bipolar is a mixture of feeling depressed, but also manic etc

But how do you define the manic part? Lately I've been so confused 'cause at times I can be really high and I feel buzzed, but I don't feel like I'm 'here'... but it comes as quick as it goes and for the main part I'm deeply depressed.
I don't really know how to describe the way I feel... but I know that you can feel happy sometimes when you're depressed... but the way I feel isn't happy?
I don't really now how to explain, my heads all over the place and nothing has seemed to sink in at all lately... think tonight's the first night I've ever really been able to think about anything, to feel half normal.

Could anyone just explain the manic part of bipolar for me (I am going to speak to my doctor about how I've been), just be nice to get some insight?

Thanks,
Molly

(oh... and I know you can't use this as a diagnosis, but I got 53 in the bipolar quiz on pc)

Hi Molly, it is confusing. My mania was like no sleep but so tired at times. Then i would go 2-3 weeks of being so buzzed, so clear. I was a train on a mission. I tried to apply quantum theory to environmental issues, I saw auras around trees, I tried to fix the entire department where I worked because of staff issues. (They were very understanding) I worked for the government in a hospital. I was doing a science degree and writing 2000 word essays in 6 hours and getting good marks. Then I would crash and sleep for days, cry alot, my intelligence would leave me and I was a horrible person I did not know. I did not have the compulsion to spend money on one of evry colour so everyone is different. I was diagnosed with Bipolar type 2 and I am on lithium and olanzapine. I was also diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder 15 years ago. BPD can mirror symptoms of Bipolar so it took a while and my great psychiatrist to finally treat me for it. Don't give up. If your doc is good you will come to a diagnosis that sits well with the symptoms and then you can be treated. Good luck!

[theama]

You gotta sit back and look at your life from season to season, year to year and try to remember if you've engaged in any "typical" manic or hypomanic behavior, and if you've had recurring depression and if so - how severe it was.

I'm bipolar type 2, but I've had two manic episodes - one where I stole my mother's credit card and bought junk online for $2000 dollars; including plane tickets. I was 11-12. The other one was when I was 14, I was extremely promiscuous and I did a lot of drugs/alcohol, quit school etc.

My hypomanic times are more about writing/talking a lot, buying things but not going overboard, cleaning (yeah it's unusual for me to clean), staying up later than I should (8 am now) but still getting my sleep etc. I'm not happy, but I'm not depressed either - I'm more content. I'm more social, I'm optimistic, I want to get things done, I want to start new projects etc.

lifenotworking.blogspot.com
^ From june-september I was depressed, and from september till now I've been hypomanic.

[Bellax3]

With me, when I'm hypomanic, 1 of 2 things will happen ::

1- I'll act like a 5yr old who had waayyy too much holloween candy. I'll be jumping off the walls, rocking out to music, laughing hysterically, gasping every five seconds and going on a rant about one thing, then another, annoying everyone around me, laughing laughing, and laughing. My friends ask me if my water is spiked, and on one occasion even try to administer a drunk test because they weren't sure how I could be sober and act so crazy.

2- I'll suddenly HAVE to do something-- like a huge project. the alst time was this weekend when I turned a nasty old basement workshop into a georgeous pink lacy bedroom.
In the past I have written jaw-dropping essays, spend the entire night cleaning my room (its a bigger task then you would imagine, lol) etc. I feel the need to take on a huge project, and I'm not satisfied until I've done hours of work and an amaazing job.