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Originally Posted by bec415  How do you know if you're bi-polar? Just this morning Charles (my fiance) said that my mood swings seem to come out of no where. And I feel myself having these bursts of energy where I can't sleep at night and don't know what to do with it, but then I also get depressed for no reason. |
Bipolar actually takes a while to diagnose. Your psychiatrist has to keep track of your mood and symptoms for several months to officially diagnose.
Basically, you have episodes of depression and mania, and for some people, mixed states. For me, when my depression came, it was incredibly severe and terrifying. With mania... some people can find mania almost enjoyable. You basically feel like you're on the top of the world, you feel almost invincible, you think faster, talk faster, have so much energy you hardly sleep... and it can get to the point where your thoughts are moving so incredibly fast, you enter psychosis, which is a mixed state. It's a manic state gone bad. You can hallucinate, become suicidal, and it almost feels like you're out of control and not even in this world. Those are awful times. In my milder manic states, even as happy as I was... a severe crash would soon follow.
Every bipolar person is different. How your moods cycle, symptoms, etc. If it's a big concern, find a good psychiatrist.