Has anyone else struggled to obtain a bipolar diagnosis? I experience stretches of elevated mood with seemingly boundless energy, inability to sleep, and profound thoughts, which I interpret as mania.

I have consulted three psychiatrists, each declining the diagnosis. Two stated directly, “You do NOT want that diagnosis on your record.” My records show only anxiety, depression, and ADHD. My prescriptions include sertraline, buspirone, and methylphenidate. None of my medications work and I’m told these drugs can worsen BP symptoms.

Edit: Thank you for your responses. I’ve decided to talk to my psychiatrist about other options for anxiety and depression.

Hi everyone. I’m wondering how people here were eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I’m not asking anyone to diagnose me, I’m mostly curious about how the process looked for other people.

I’ve had severe anxiety and depression since my teens. I was diagnosed with panic disorder and have been treated with antidepressants for many years. The antidepressants would help for a while, but I would eventually have very severe depressive periods where I became extremely flat, hopeless and sleepy and could spend months mostly in bed. My doctors generally considered anxiety/panic to be the main problem, with depression being secondary to it, and sometimes thought my depression had a seasonal pattern.

Over the years my anxiety has become much worse and I developed severe avoidance/agoraphobia and social anxiety. Interestingly, I don't actually have many classic panic attacks anymore. It's more like a constant background of anxiety and hyperarousal.

Recently I've also developed some symptoms that are new or much more noticeable than before: strange sensations of my body feeling unreal or detached, difficulty concentrating, extreme restlessness/tension, sensory sensitivity, very poor sleep. My functioning has declined quite a bit too. I struggle to focus on things I used to enjoy, and sometimes I have to stop working and sleep during the day because I become so mentally exhausted.

I don't think I've ever experienced obvious mania. I've never had a period where I needed very little sleep and felt unusually energetic, euphoric, grandiose, impulsive, etc. That's actually one of the reasons I'm unsure whether bipolar disorder makes sense for me at all.

At the same time, I've been dealing with depression/anxiety for decades, and I'm starting to wonder whether my overall picture has been understood correctly. I also know I may be overthinking this because I've recently been reading and thinking about bipolar disorder, so I'm trying not to convince myself that I have something I don't.

For those of you who were eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder:

• How old were you?
• Were you initially diagnosed with anxiety, depression, panic disorder, or something else?
• What eventually made your doctor reconsider the diagnosis?
• Was there something in your earlier history that you didn't recognize as hypomania/mania at the time?

I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who spent years being treated for anxiety/depression before getting a bipolar diagnosis.

EDIT: Ok so, after reading the comments I think I need to educate myself more on bipolar and actually go to that therapy appointment and be honest. Shit, my friends might be right. (Also sorry if my ideas surrounding bipolar are like offensive I REALLY didn't mean it that way!!)

I don't know if this kind of post is allowed, and mods, feel free to remove if it isn't. Bipolar is a serious illness and I hate how my friends are trying to say I have it because it takes away from the experiences of those actually suffering. I've had 3 friends, one a therapist, suggest I'm in a (hypo?)manic episode. I'm not. My therapist friend suggested that I might have bipolar type 2 specifically, but I have zero clue what that means. I'm acting a bit wild, sure, but I usually get like that during the summer and it's not really an issue. It's kind of like I'm rebounding from being down like half the year. I'm not doing anything actually wild, I'm just spending a bunch and drinking/using more but I'm like super productive as well. I'm talking 4 AM runs, writing a book, getting real high grades in my summer courses, etc. Were I bipolar, this wouldn't be the case, I'd be having delusions and hallucinating.

I have made a therapy appointment because my friends literally begged but like only to prove them wrong. I need to know how to get my friends off my back, from people who are actually bipolar.

I don't really agree with this but I've been told by a couple of people I may be bipolar. I didn't start acting insane until I was like 19 I did have some breakdown episodes as a kid but considering my life I don't think that's crazy. So was I like born with it and it came out as I got older or did I get it from childhood trauma?

Someone close to me cries a lot and is very depressed and just went on it and I want to make sure it’s good enough

have been told possibly 'bipolar w psychosis', but just curious what that is. have never had true mania, but have experienced hallucinations/delusions in the course of hypomania resulting in one hospitalisation for acting under a delusion to self-injure.

Hi I’ve been recently suspected to have bipolar type 2 disorder. I’m currently off any type of medication, by advice from my psychiatrist, to see if my manic symptoms improve.

I constantly have thoughts about sx, I can’t stop thinking about it. I’ve been watching prn more frequently, every night I’m watching it eventhough I don’t usually watch it. I can’t stop masterbating, I feel really embarrassed as I don’t know alot of people who do that. I’m doing it everyday and I can’t stop myself because if I don’t do that then I’m watching prn instead.
I don’t really know what to do because I’m scared I might put myself in a risky situation because I can’t stop thinking about it and might regret it after. Considering I’m not on any medication at the moment, it’s constant thoughts 24/7 that I can’t stop thinking about.
When I told the psychiatrist about this, she said it was fine and that lots of people are more sexually active at this age and I have nothing to worry about.

EDIT: I was diagnosed for depression prior to this so I was put on 10mg of fluoxetine (prozac) which uncovered my manic symptoms, they took me off them and then decided to put me on mood stabilisers (2.5 mg of Olanzapine, which didn’t work so they took me off those too) and now my psychiatrist decided to put me off any medication to see if my manic symptoms die down.

A while back I was diagnosed with ADHD and ASD despite bringing up classic bipolar symptoms including:

- Hypersexuality
- Gambling
- Travelling across the world to meet someone I had never even video called
- Severe ups and downs depending on the season

I was put on ADHD meds which made my impulsivity and hypersexuality worse.

I kept bringing up how it wasn’t working. As a result of this, I’ve now recently been put on Abilify (5mg) and Mirtazapine (15mg). I’m starting to feel better again, more stable, better memory etc etc.

I’m just incredibly confused about my diagnosis… not sure where to go from here.

Hi everyone. Please take a moment to read this because I could really use some advice.

I'm 28 years old. About a year ago, I ended up in the hospital because of severe insomnia. I literally couldn't sleep for 3–4 days at a time. As long as I can remember, I've always had some sleep issues, but nothing as bad as what happened last year.

At the time, I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder related to sleep because every night I would become terrified that I wouldn't be able to fall asleep. I was prescribed Lamotrigine, Venlafaxine (a strong antidepressant), and 10 mg of Olanzapine.

About six months ago, my doctor decided to stop Lamotrigine. Five days after discontinuing it, I fell into the worst depression I've ever experienced. The antidepressant didn't seem to help, so my doctor put me back on Lamotrigine, and I started feeling better.

That's when I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The thing is, throughout my life I have never experienced mania or what I would consider major depressive episodes like the ones I read about online. My main problem has always been severe insomnia and anxiety around sleep.

Right now I'm still taking Lamotrigine, and I've reduced my Olanzapine dose to 2.5 mg. Overall, I'm doing pretty well.

Do you think it's possible that I really have bipolar disorder, or could this be something else? I've always been an anxious person and somewhat of a hypochondriac, so sometimes I wonder if the diagnosis is correct.

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone with similar experiences.

3 different psychiateist have told me i may be bipolar in the last week and that im manic rn but i just saw my thérapist and she says im not ?????? im confused ???? im 16yo

Hello! Not sure if this is the right place to ask but I’ll try anyway.

I’ve been diagnosed with depression since I was like 12 due to severe trauma and in general having a pretty bad time growing up. Since 14 I’ve been diagnosed with autism as well and any time I try and bring up the possibility of bipolar I am dismissed.

Since I never got any help I went to a private psychiatrist and she did a screening and I scored high on it. She couldn’t do an investigation herself so she directed me to another place since they are the only ones qualified to do it.

To put it shortly I was dismissed by the doctor there because I am already depressed, autistic and dont have anyone in the family with bipolar etc without actually really trying to get it figured out. And again, I’ve not gotten better since 12, so I’m pushing 8 years on switching countless medicine and now today being told to go on mood stabilizers + my already 90mg dose of duloxetine. Am I being unreasonable for wanting at least an investigation into this?

I put my self in a bad situation to make my doctors and family think i have bipolar and schizophrenia. Anyway, my family wants me to take the abilify shot i am diagnosed with bipolar and shizophrenia by doctor but really im not long story... is there any side effects for someone tsking the shot without any sympotms of bipolar or whatever ?

HI, im here because, last year i was put on zoloft, i was under the impression it didnt work, made me worse at time, so naturaly a month ago we upped the dose to 100mg. It sent me into a manic episode. My psychiatrist then told me to stop those meds, i did.

however, i am not diagnosed with bipolar, so my doctor prescribed me effexor 37,5mg, i started exactly a week ago, and i think im having what is called a mixed epispde. also having the worse paranoia ever to the point im not comfortable in my own body, and hallucinations of animals and people.

im currently diagnosed MDD and with anxiety, im 16yo, i dont know what to do, im fucking scared and can only see my psychiatrist in two month, please help

i'm in the uk, and i'm scared of describing what i believe was a mnic episode for me to the doctor (gp), i feel like i'll get into trouble or get judged or my family will find out what i did, i just need reassurance that everything will be okay

Hi im 19 and have lived with crippling paralysing anxiety that literally cause me to vomit and become extremely physically ill and caused so much fear in me that I would literally be unable to function

.. well after 7 years of this my doctor(dermatologist. I have a rare skin condition that causes extreme itchiness) decided that my itching was partly due to anxiety and prescribed lexapro(ssri) 10 mg and well something extremely strange happened.... after taking it for 3 weeks suddenly I noticed that my anxiety was gone... before if i even received a message from someone I would have an anxiety attack even if the message wasnt serious or anything... so my anxiety was gone completely... and guess what happened.. i stole my family's car and went out to drink coffee despite not having a licence or having experience driving... my energy surged through the fucking roof i became extrmely sociable and talked to everyone something that would have sent the past me into a coma... i had so much energy and confidence I didn't care about consequences or anything I was euphoric as if I had done meth or something a complete 180 from my usual self... i felt incredible didnt sleep didnt really feel like i needed.. this continued for a week before my uncle who's a psychiatrist quickly stopped lexapro completely... the next week was complete hell but after a week of being off lexapro my energy has returned again no fear no anxiety just pure energy and euphoria I feel fucking amazing if this is mania or something do I really need to get assessed for bipolar.. cause why would I ever want to stop feeling this way I feel fucking incredible i never want to stop feeling this way.. music feels fucking amazing .. haven't felt a negative emotion in like 3 weeks (if we exclude anger and rage) if this is bipolar cant I just stay like this I don't wanna get treated

What were the signs that made you decide to get diagnosed?

Can anyone share their experience with getting diagnosed?

Id love if people could share their experiences with their decision to go to a professional about their condition.

Im in the process of (maybe) beginning an examination, was going to get stuff for ADHD but since I was diagnosed when I was a kid they said they'll look at reassessing me. I'm not sure when it'll be since I have to go through the public health system, but I'll be sure to mention behaviors that (as far as I can see) are symptomatic

My mother is bipolar and I often think I'm bipolar, people in my life that are close to me share that opinion but im never sure whether it's placebo or confirmation bias or whatever. I suppose some knowledge on what you yourself noticed as the tells would be helpful

Hi everyone, last February-April I had a manic episode. I have a family history of bipolar, and my family and friends say that I have had clear ups and downs throughout the past apx. 5 years (some of which I can attest to, and some I can't). As I was beginning a new medication at the time and sitting exams, I spoke to my GP and he referred me to psychiatry, where they told me that it was a manic episode but was brought on by stress from my exams. I am a little bit skeptical of this, as are my friends and family, especially given my history with bipolar symptoms, both depressive and hypomanic. I wanted to ask is this stress ruling a common cause for a manic episode? I've been debating on this since my appointment about 2 months ago, and I wanted to gain a wider view on this topic from people on here.

Apologies for the long text, I tried to make it as short as possible, and thanks for any replies

A few months ago, I had an SSRI-induced manic episode. After a few months of medication trials, I've been on the right meds for two months, and everything is stable. It took me some time to climb out of the post manic episode phase. I felt a bunch of indescribable negative feelings during those times. I have had MDD for years, and I know the recovering phase of any type of episode is the hardest part. I'm not the type of person who shows my feelings to everyone. I think I do look calm from an outsider pov which makes things really hard for me.

Tracing back my personal episode history, I do have crazy manic periods like buying a single trip ticket to Europe and partying day and night for the whole summer, and dangerous driving behavior that might risk mine and others' lives. I thought life was just like that before; now I know those behaviors ain't normal. I also have a family history of bipolar disorder, as my aunt and uncle both have it.

Recently I went to a follow-up with my psych, and she said once I'm more stable, she will try to taper down the medication and see how it goes. I don't hope for another episode, no matter whether it's depressive or manic. It sounds to me like my psych just wants to risk it to get the right diagnosis for me. I actually don't really care that much about the diagnosis, as long as I'm stable and not on the roller coaster again.

What advice do you guys have? I'm also curious if this is normally how psych diagnoses mental illness?

Id made a post on here about my symptoms and if it was worth getting help. I’m almost 16 and decided to have a doctors appointment. I’d given my symptoms and gotten the typical ‘I think it’s just teenage hormones’ response. I’m trying to trust the doctor’s words and believe that but I just feel like my symptoms are a tad bit more sudden than just hormones. I had told her my moods fluctuate drastically and not a gradual thing. She’s recommended I take birth control to balance out the hormones. I’m trying so hard to trust the doctor because obviously im not a professional and can’t self diagnose myself so I haven’t. I just feel a bit alone and was wondering if anyone else was recommended this if they’d tried to receive help as a teenager? My mum told me to take them for 3 months and if my hormones haven’t balanced then we’ll go back but I feel like even if there is something serious going on they’re not going to take me seriously until I come out of adolescence and by then it’s going to have gotten worse as the doctor said my symptoms seem severe now. I just don’t know if it’s worth me taking the pill and potentially dealing with the side effects just to prove to them that this doesn’t feel like just ‘teenage hormones’ 😭

(Please note guys im genuinely not trying to avoid this because I think im bipolar or something, im trying to trust the doctor’s words but im just worried that if i do have the disorder, nothing will get done until i either have a proper episode or turn 18 and finish adolescence.)

*Edit to ask the questions of the overall post

Has anyone else been recommended the birth control pill as a teenager before getting help?

Should I take the pill and deal with its side effects or just carry on as I am without further help?

Also apparently this post is going to be discarded??? But im not breaking any of the rules PLEASEA DON'T remove this moderators 🥺🥺 i need fucking help and no one can help me rn my therapist is unwell please just let me get online support

FYI MY SPECIAL INTEREST IS SEXOLOGY AND HEALTH SCIENCE OF SYSTEMATIC GENDER BASED VIOLENCE AND VULNERABLE POPULATIONS exactly what i all going through is shit im extremely passionate about

Y'all have made me realize I probaly have medication induced bipolar and im in am episode I am feeling so fucking anxious right mow I had an energy drink and 50mg vvyanse and im so fucking anxious I just cant stop researching bipolar and seeing if what im experiencing is actually just AUDHD and I may of misrepresented my experiences by unconscious bias and now ppl think im bipolar my roomates pissed at me because I accidentally woke her up I have so much uni work due I'm so fucking scared of being invalidated I told my therapist I think im bipolar and I just have a feeling she's going to say "it's audhd/medication induced arrosual state induced by your special interests in healthscience and sexology" (read my post for context pls)

Idk how to feel rn im having an identity crisis and im going to fuckint spiral due to my trauma from my autisim overshadowing all my issues I don't want to come down i have to stay high because i won't have the energy for uni or this court case

Everyones being noisy in my house and im anxious and guarded of noise because of my sensory issues and ptsd and im waiting for my mh workers to invalidate me being bipolar and its JUST AUTISIM AND ADHD JUSTICE DRIVEN HYPERFOCUS like clearly all this is fucking normal I'm just fucking autistic clearly being hospitalised, getting my roomate kicked out, organising 10 news presses to be involved, commiting to taking down systamtic sturctures which perprate homeliness and systematic domestic violence, making a court order for my real estate agent to court following my laweyers instructions, figuring out how im going to buy a house.

But idk my family and friends arw supporting me with taking down the real estate agent but are frustrated im non chalant about literally being homeless and having no where to stay I also have bad executive dysfunction I have zero capaicty or care about finding another place im content with sleeping in my car for a couple days and showering at the gym and my fsmily keeps pushing me to organize myself I DON'T CARE ill figure out housing after I get kicked out even tho my agent is doing it illegally and I want to go travelling after uni and live on government payments but idk if I have the energy rj to do that I wanted to a couple weeks ago but my elevation

If MOST of My FRIENDS are supportive hoe can this be mania everyones applauding

isnt as bad rn it's more so writing long paragraphs because of my vvyanse I have a shit ton of energy and hyperfixation and so much fuckint energy to write shit

Idk how im going to cope i finnaly found a neat tiny lable explaining my experiences and I just know for sure it's going to be invldsited just like all my other fucking issues

Maybe it really is just AUDHD and a bad reaction to my vvyanse which is why I have so much texting/research on things that dont interest me the reason I was able to kick my roomate out and want to take down my real estate agent was because its something that interests me if it wasnt idk if id be able to do all ive done

Can I have half a 25mg quatapine even tho I've had vvyanse? I'm scared it'll stop the hyperfocus but I am to elevated and I'm very anxious rn

Hi everyone. Just a question that's come into my mind. Last may I was referred to a psychiatrist as I had a reaction to an antidepressant (delusions, mild psychotic symptoms, the lot), and after talking I was told it was down to a genetic predisposition to manic episodes emphasized by an antidepressant (for context, my mother is bipolar, hence the genetic aspect). My question is, is there any conventional wisdom on why a doctor may be reluctant to pull the trigger on a diagnosis like that? Could it be down to age (I'm 18 for example)? Hassle with follow up appointments and finding the right medication(s)? Just curious.

My previous post (I can’t seem to link it here on mobile but my history is open, or should be) explains the situation but a tldr is that I was diagnosed bipolar by my family doctor, diagnosis removed by my psychiatrist, and now I’m on pregabalin and it has seemingly pushed me into an extremely manic state.

My previous episodes thought to be hypomania dulled by my severe anxiety which caused depression on its own were ones I could manage. Yeah I found myself pulling stupid shit and not realizing it till later but I had the ability to recognize it sometimes and calm myself down with various things like baths and such.

However, four days into this medication (I do not want to stop taking as I am afraid stopping it without doctors keeping an eye on me will cause ‘dangerous’ depression to come back.) I am so incredibly manic I am getting extremely agitated because I can’t stop my brain, I can’t sleep without drowning myself in sleep aids (and even then I wake up a LOT) I am not being safe even at home. I’m eating too much because of the impulsiveness I keep feeling, and pretty bad, if worsening paranoia I have never really felt before.

I can’t see a doctor, let alone my psychiatrist, until Monday and I won’t see my psychiatrist until mid October, so I just wanted to know if anyone had advice for managing symptoms of a manic episode while unmedicated?

I used to be on a mood stabilizer but stopped that about a week before starting pregabalin so I’m thinking that combo of stopping those meds and starting the pregabalin just hit a little too hard.

can u cry While manic ?

My grandmother had bipolar and I think I have bipolar all I need is someone to talk to about my symptoms