Could I have bipolar or something similar?

[redmama2]

I have had severe depression for close to 10 years but the past few years I’ll get days to weeks (more and more frequently) where I’ll have a bunch of energy, do a lot of thing, sleep a lot less, do impulsive things (like this past time I bought pet birds…), talk a lot, and feel really confident and social. It’s not anything crazy but I feel like it fits the criteria of hypomania making me suspect bipolar disorder. It feels kind of out of control and I get physically exhausted but my brain won’t let me rest and I hate feeling like that. My doctor said it can’t be mania because with mania people usually get very irritable and angry and I rarely do. But I’m not an angry person in general. Should I get a second opinion or am I overthinking it?

[CL3V3R-G1RL]

Well there are many things that could be causing your mania. Like schizo affective disorder, bipolar I, postpartum psychosis, cyclothymia and seasonal affective disorder ooh and Hyperthyroidism.

I would disagree with the doctor about manic people are angry and irritable. People usually get your kind of symptoms inflated confidence like you're invincible and can do anything to really high energy. Possible crash later which is the depression after you burn through the serotonin.

I suggest keep a Moody journal. Write down when you feel depressed, when did it start and what you felt and how long did it last. Followed by when you get this feeling of hyper energy. How long does it last and what you were thinking about etc. Could help to find out what may have triggered it.

It doesn't always hurt to get a second opinion.

Possibly from an expert in the field like a psychiatrist. Don't get me wrong general physicians are good. However they don't know a lot about mental health. They know enough like to prescribe medication for like depression. But don't know how to handle other things like anxiety and OCD and hyper fixation that sometimes comes from mania.

Hope this helps you find out and get some answers.

Wishing you healing and peace 🫂 ❤️

[So_It_Goes]

2nd opinion.

Irritability can be a sign of mania, but it’s not the most common and definitely not a reason to rule out that diagnosis.

Bipolar disorder is I believe the number one under diagnosed mental health disorders and is often misdiagnosed as depression since those symptoms are more prevalent.

On avg, individuals don’t receive the correct diagnosis of bipolar disorder for 10 years. This is a big concern because there’s a-lot of research that cautions against using anti depressants in bipolar individuals as it can trigger a manic episode.

Regardless of if it’s bipolar or not, go with your gut, get another opinion.

Best of luck-

[Tellmeaboutit]

yes that definitely fits the description of bipolar disorder. Share these symptoms with your doctor. Medication can definitely help, tho sometimes it takes a while to find the right meds and dosage for each individual.

Sometimes in an elevated mood a little bit of exercise helps for me. Just a short jog around the block once or twice.

[cashew78]

this sounds to me like it could just be major depression, but I agree with the above notions of seeking a second opinion and that a GP doctor is not well equipped to handle/address issues of mental health. Everything exists on a spectrum and it's possible you may have bipolar to a degree that the doctor wouldn't necessarily notice or act upon. Like above, it could also be symptomatic of something else as well.