Looking for answers

[Sueislove]

Can someone tell me the difference between bipolar and depression ?

[Blueruth]

Bipolar people experience mood swings from manic to depressed. In order to be diagnosed the swings meet a threshold of intensity and duration. A depression is down most of the time and doesn’t normally experience manic episodes. I’ve been suspicious for years that antidepressants artificially lead to a bipolar diagnosis but that is a story for another day.

[Sueislove in reply to Blueruth]

Ok thanks for explaining that . And I will look forward to be continued if you would like to !

[Blueruth in reply to Sueislove]

Warning... it is half rant!

I am not a scientist but there is a pretty obvious pattern of this. This is just one study. Not sure how often it is supported by other studies: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

With me wellbutrin clearly caused manic episodes that were caught by others not me. What if they hadn't spoken up? The doctor saw me once a week for an hour. The explanation was that I was really bipolar and all of a sudden I was being treated for that. Obviously pharma is going to take this line because it is profitable. This is absurd in any other field. They wouldn't conclude you are really prone to migraines if you got a migraine after starting a med. I have seen people come on this forum and others saying they are "discovered" to be bipolar after years of taking antidepressants. Today I am stuck on Lamictal for life because withdrawal is too hard. I wish I could prove it and sue. IDK who I would sue if I could.

Note that bipolar and depression are on a spectrum. The technical term for clinical depression is unipolar.

If you are looking at your own diagnosis I would question the doctor thoroughly. If you can bring someone that has observed your behavior over a long period. A bipolar diagnosis will follow you for the rest of your life. Depression is considered either curable or management capable.

[Blueruth in reply to Sueislove]

That study would have been better if they had also interviewed close friends or family members.