How to Notice the Signs of Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is one of the most diagnosed mental disorders today. The disorder can present as a series of symptoms that are diagnosed separately as various mental disorders like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Depression. When the symptoms are recognized as a whole they may fall under the definition of bipolar disorder symptoms.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Protect yourself against overdiagnosis. Overdiagnosis occurs when the person suffering from bipolar disorder symptoms is diagnosed with several conditions. If a person is being medicated for several mental conditions at the same time, the chance of side effects from the medications increases. If the symptoms are combined, they may lead to a complete diagnosis with a more streamlined medication therapy.

2. Take note of all of your symptoms. Noting all of the symptoms you are having in one place may help with the overall diagnosis. The most common bipolar disorder symptoms include depression, obsession, difficulty concentrating, periods of hyperactivity, sleeplessness and fatigue.

3. Talk to your doctor early. If you are being treated for depression, the mania may feel like times of stress or anxiety at first. Bipolar disorder symptoms can be compounding which means the good feelings could turn into feelings of oversensitization in a short amount of time. According to researchers, 20% of patients currently being seen for depression could have bipolar disorder.

4. Make your feelings known. If your current physician does not heed your concerns about having bipolar disorder symptoms, seeking out a second opinion can be beneficial. Due to the overdiagnosis of bipolar disorder, some doctors may feel as though the symptoms you are noting are too general or common to diagnosis the condition. This does not mean the symptoms should be ignored, just that a second opinion may be needed.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep track of all symptoms no matter how small they may seem.
• Mood changes count as symptoms.

Resources

• Warning Signs of Bipolar

[luvthepanda]

on 8/11/2009 Knowing the signs of bipolar disorder and taking note is really important. Your link to the warning signs is really helpful too. Thanks for keeping us informed about bipolar disorder! 5*

[survivoryea]

on 8/10/2009 Interesting article 5*

[jocart]

on 8/9/2009 Good article! 5*s + rec

[nunpuns]

on 8/8/2009 Very informative article. 5*