Psychiatry's hypomania scam

One thing which puzzled me concerning hypomania was:

the amount of days you needed to be in a hypomanic state to qualify for the bipolar diagnosis dicreased with each version of the DSM. Principally. I'm a bit too lazy to scratch together the evidence right now.

Now does that mean that hypomania gets more easily and correctly diagnosed now?
Or that the false positive diagnoses increase?

If it's all about "how much may this medicine f*ck you up seriously if you have the tendency to be overly happy for short periods of time" then it's okay by me when they adapt the criteria to this. But I am not too happy if people get diagnosed bipolar just for a short period of being overly happy or tense.

Have you never felt hyper after getting good results from an exam or something?

MilliPete wrote:the amount of days you needed to be in a hypomanic state to qualify for the bipolar diagnosis dicreased with each version of the DSM. Principally. I'm a bit too lazy to scratch together the evidence right now.

I helped you out and did a little research on this. It appears to me that hypomania was not introduced as a part of bipolar disorder until DSM IV. In DSM III it was just manic or depressed and the amount was one week for mania and 2 weeks for depression. The amount of time needed to qualify in DSM IV for hypomania was 4 consecutive days. In DSM V it is still set at 4 consecutive days. The time for mania and depression has not changed since DSM III.

I agree that 4 days does not seem like a lot of time. However BP II (which includes the hypomania) one must also have the 4 consecutive days of hypomania, as well as a clearly distinct depressive period of at least 2 weeks. This is most likely where the over diagnosis comes in to play. Who hasn't had at least 2 weeks of depression and at least 4 days of overly excited mood?

PMDD is a symptom not a disease. Before I was properly treated for thyroid disease I had the worst PMS mood swings ever. I wanted to hurt people, everyone irritated me and it felt like my raw nerves were on the outside of my body.

For you PMDD was a symptom of your thyroid disease. What about for those people who are medically fine and still feel that way?

I don't wander into this corner of the forum much, but I just wanted to put my 2c worth in on the debate about PMDD- it is real, very real.

Cheze2 wrote:

Devilock wrote:As in, its a naturally occurring thing that happens to some women at that time of the month.

Are you a woman? PMDD does NOT happen to all women. Sure all women may get a little moody, or have an increased appetite or what not before their menstrual cycle. PMDD is completely different. PMDD is like for people who literally lose control for one week each month that coincides with their cycle. People who end up murdering people due to their cycle, or honestly eat 6000 calories a day and cannot stop during their cycle, or suicidal only corresponding during their cycle etc. They are completely different.

No, it doesn't happen to all women and is not to be confused with PMS, which a lot of people seem to do. PMDD is more extreme and is not just "being a bit moody". I've been diagnosed with PMDD. I also have severe depression. PMDD I believe is more common in women who also have depression. I have severe depressive episodes that last up to two weeks out of every four. I am very definitely not bipolar. They are predictable to the point where I will start to wonder why I feel so terrible only to work it out a week later when my period arrives, and then think "oh, that was why". I don't want to murder people, though I have no doubt that those urges could happen with PMDD. I become suicidal with no emotional triggers at all, my dissociation worsens as does my anxiety. I often used to turn up to therapy during these episodes telling my therapist I was suicidal but couldn't explain why. Antidepressants don't really work for me, but I've recently started on the pill and it's made a massive difference to my ability to function during those two weeks and I am far more stable. A month back I accidently skipped a dose- big mistake- the suicidal episode and all the rest of the problems returned. It's real. And there's no other physical reason for things to be so out of whack for me.

lifelongthing wrote:I am interested in asking though, why is it classified as a mental disorder if the way to fix it is through hormone therapy and the cause is organic? I'm sincerely asking here as I find that a little confusing.

Even though it's treated through hormone therapy, most of the effects of PMDD are psychological. For some women treatment includes an antidepressant taken only during certain parts of their cycle. There is much debate about it and I have read a lot of cases where women suffering from it have been told by doctors or psychiatrists that PMDD doesn't exist. That said, there's that kind of debate about a number of other disorders too.

Thanx for your comments it was interesting to hear form someone who has it.

Altho u said 'there is absolutely no psychical reason for it', but u have said u took the pill and this helped, so obviously there was a hormonal problem, and the pill has stabalised some of those hormones (which it can do) and helped.

Devilock wrote:Thanx for your comments it was interesting to hear form someone who has it.

Altho u said 'there is absolutely no psychical reason for it', but u have said u took the pill and this helped, so obviously there was a hormonal problem, and the pill has stabalised some of those hormones (which it can do) and helped.

I should have said no obvious reason for it- hormones were evidently part of the problem.

Cheze2 wrote:For you PMDD was a symptom of your thyroid disease. What about for those people who are medically fine and still feel that way?

Mood swings, discomfort and rages are symptoms, and if not of thyroid disease they are symptoms of something else underlying. (though thyroid disease is vastly underdiagnosed due to ignorant doctors and antiqated lab ranges)
The centeral nervous system and the endocrene systems are part of the same network of bio-chemical communication.

If you are attacking loved ones, destroying your house and even comittinng murder because of it you are not medically fine, it just means the cause is not known.