Missed and wrong diagnoses in those with Bipolar Disorder

Your doctor may not have had the benefit of much training in diagnosing bipolar disorder, as it is a condition that is only recently receiving a great deal of attention around the world. Therefore, telling your doctor, or your psychologist, some significant symptoms may help considerably in your treatment . The majority of people with bipolar disorder did not have it diagnosed the first time they went to see a doctor , or indeed very often did not have it diagnosed the first time they went to see a psychiatrist or a psychologist. So some of the following indicators may be very useful.

NB If you have had even 48 hour periods of feeling unusually energetic with reduced need for sleep or feeling unusually well and extrovert for similar periods, it is important to bring this to your doctor's or psychologist's attention.

Similarly, if you have a close relative who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder , it is important to alert your doctor or psychologist to this fact.

Some people have been diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia or other forms of psychosis. However, if this diagnosis took place at the sam e time as being elated and high, or at the sam e time as being severely depressed, it may well be that more precise diagnosis would take these mood changes into account. Some people diagnosed with schizophrenia for example have been realized to really have a severe form of bipolar illness instead, and some people have been realized to have a mixture of bipolar illness and schizophrenia (schizoaffective illness).

Many people who are high or depressed drink heavily or take illegal drugs at theses times; therefore, they are often diagnosed as having an addiction or a drinking problem, without the underlying bipolar illness being recognised.

The lack of sleep and the restlessness of being high may make it seem the person is suffering from anxiety. However, anxious people usually feel tired while those who are high feel they still have lots of energy.