Misdiagnosed bipolar help please?

Hi all,
I was first diagnosed with major depressive disorder, and i started taking meds. I was always depressed. But when i started taking an SSRI my doctor prescribed me, i started experiencing an unusually happy and elevated mood at home but it only lasted a short while, and other than that i started doing another student's homework, and i showed up once to another student's house and gave him a candle(gift) even though i dont really know him.
But these are the only "manic" moments ive experienced in my life.

However, upon that my doctor decided to diagnose me as bipolar, when i still believe that i a have depression. Are those "manic" moments enough to diagnose me as bipolar?

Have you been diagnosed with bipolar i or ii? To me, it sounds like ii, since your described "manic" episode doesn't sound very manic to me. But according to what I found on the internet:

Bipolar I disorder involves one or more manic episodes or mixed (mania and depression) episodes and at least one major depressive episode.

Bipolar II disorder has one or more severe major depressive episodes with at least one hypomanic episode. There are no manic or mixed episodes. Hypomania is a lesser form of mania. It doesn’t disrupt your ability to function as much as bipolar I disorder.

So it only takes one manic or hypomanic episode to get diagnosed.

Don't worry about the diagnosis. It is just a label. The breadth and depth of bipolar behavior is huge. What really matters is that we learn to be aware of our "unusual" behavior , bipolar or not, and manage it as best we can with the help of counselling, therapy, medication, all three, or non of the above.

The supposedly bipolar behavior you describe is mild, and apparently hasn't caused any big problems. For that you can be thankful. But, it is unusual behavior... Keep an eye on things. Keep learning about mental illness including depression and bipolar illness. Develop a good professional relationship with your doctor and seek help from the doctor and others when you think you need it.

You mention "Homework". That suggests you are a student... may I infer from that that you are in high school or university? My student years were charged with strange behavior that I think is pretty typical as young people struggle with "becoming" who they will eventually be. Go with it. Learn, live, grow, adjust... Be kind to yourself.

Take care,

Thank you very much for these words.

skilsaw wrote:Don't worry about the diagnosis. It is just a label. The breadth and depth of bipolar behavior is huge. What really matters is that we learn to be aware of our "unusual" behavior , bipolar or not, and manage it as best we can with the help of counselling, therapy, medication, all three, or non of the above.

The supposedly bipolar behavior you describe is mild, and apparently hasn't caused any big problems. For that you can be thankful. But, it is unusual behavior... Keep an eye on things. Keep learning about mental illness including depression and bipolar illness. Develop a good professional relationship with your doctor and seek help from the doctor and others when you think you need it.

You mention "Homework". That suggests you are a student... may I infer from that that you are in high school or university? My student years were charged with strange behavior that I think is pretty typical as young people struggle with "becoming" who they will eventually be. Go with it. Learn, live, grow, adjust... Be kind to yourself.

Take care,

-- Sat Jul 22, 2017 10:57 pm --

shouldnt a hypomanic episode be at least 4 days long?

Jellybeanery wrote:Have you been diagnosed with bipolar i or ii? To me, it sounds like ii, since your described "manic" episode doesn't sound very manic to me. But according to what I found on the internet:

Bipolar I disorder involves one or more manic episodes or mixed (mania and depression) episodes and at least one major depressive episode.

Bipolar II disorder has one or more severe major depressive episodes with at least one hypomanic episode. There are no manic or mixed episodes. Hypomania is a lesser form of mania. It doesn’t disrupt your ability to function as much as bipolar I disorder.

So it only takes one manic or hypomanic episode to get diagnosed.

yeejah wrote:shouldnt a hypomanic episode be at least 4 days long?

Not if you're rapid cycling, like a large proportion of Bipolar II people are. I rapid cycle and my longest mania is like 6 days (if that - I've had so many manias I can barely remember).

Your diagnosis doesn't really mean anything...

I'm Bipolar, ASPD, Narc, and Depersonalized.
What does that mean?
It means I just stopped taking my Abilify because the hot flashes it gave me were worse than my depression. Also, it means they'll never give me an SSRI because it makes me manic, which THEY see as a bad thing... I'm inclined to disagree... but whatever.

So are you depressed? Obviously.
Are you bipolar? I dunno.
The important thing is if the drugs work.
Don't get hung up on the label. There ain't nothing wrong with being bipolar, and 9/10 of shrinks will diagnose the same person 9 different ways more than half the time...

So... just let it go, yo.
Take the pills that make you feel better, and don't worry what they call it.