Table of Contents
When is a person diagnosed with bipolar disorder?
According to Kay Redfield Jamison, professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and author of Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament, it takes an average of eight years for a person to receive the right diagnosis after experiencing their first episode. Prior to a depressive or manic relapse, they studied the prodromal symptoms and their duration. They discovered that sleep disturbance was one of the most important signs of an impending manic episode. For depressive episodes, the prodrome typically lasted 11–19 days, while for manic episodes, it typically lasted 1–120 days.People with bipolar disorder who aren’t receiving treatment or who have a rapid change in mood or rapid cycling between moods are more likely to experience periods of irritability as well. Rage and anger might come next.Extreme mood changes are a feature of bipolar disorder. Extreme highs (mania) and lows (depression) are examples of this spectrum. Mania and depressive episodes frequently last for a few days or longer.In your teens or 20s is when it typically begins. Before experiencing a manic (or hypomanic) episode, women frequently experience one or more depressive episodes as adults. As opposed to men, who are more likely to have experienced a manic episode as a child.According to Kay Redfield Jamison, professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and author of Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament, it takes an average of eight years for a person to receive the right diagnosis after experiencing their first episode.
How does untreated bipolar affect you?
Talking quickly, making abrupt topic changes, or making leaps of logic. Being more energized than usual, especially when little sleep is required.
A bipolar diagnosis is how challenging?
It can be challenging to diagnose bipolar disorder, particularly subtypes I and II. Actually, only 20% of patients receive an accurate diagnosis within the first year of seeking treatment. It typically takes 5–10 years between a misdiagnosis and a correct diagnosis of bipolar disorder. You must have gone through at least one episode of mania or hypomania in order to receive a bipolar disorder diagnosis. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is used by mental health professionals to identify the type of bipolar disorder a patient may be experiencing.These episodes might worsen over time if they are not properly treated. For instance, if hypomania episodes are not taken seriously, they could develop into full-blown mania episodes. People who have bipolar disorder should seek assistance from a qualified mental health professional for all of the aforementioned causes.Bipolar disorder can be identified by a psychologist or psychiatrist using a diagnostic questionnaire or by talking to you about your symptoms to ascertain the type and severity of bipolar disorder. The best way to treat bipolar disorder is with a combination of medication, talk therapy, routine changes in diet and exercise, and lifestyle changes like these.You may experience mood swings due to bipolar disorder, going from a high to a low. The signs of a manic episode can include increased vigor, excitement, impulsive behavior, and agitation. Lack of energy, a sense of worthlessness, low self-esteem, and suicidal thoughts are some of the symptoms of depression.
Can bipolar disorder be identified at any time?
Although bipolar disorder can strike anyone at any age, it is typically identified in adolescence or the first decade of adulthood. It is possible for symptoms to change over time and from person to person. A serious mental condition is bipolar disorder. It causes unusual mood changes in its sufferers. They transition from being extremely happy, up, and active to being extremely depressed and hopeless, down, and inactive, and then they transition back again. In between, they frequently exhibit typical moods.Bipolar disorder patients have a high suicide rate, and if their symptoms are not treated, they frequently become more severe and may even cause them to take their own lives. When bipolar disorder is properly treated, it’s possible to manage the symptoms and live a more stable and satisfying life.A medical professional (psychiatrist) who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental health conditions and is knowledgeable about the treatment of bipolar disorder and related disorders is the best person to direct treatment. Psychiatric nurses, psychologists, and social workers could be on your treatment team.In a population cohort of 3012 young community members, 36% of those who had an initial depressive episode were re-diagnosed with bipolar disorder after a period of up to 10 years. However, the risk was significantly higher in those whose depressive episodes began before the age of 17, coming in at 9% (14).
What is frequently misdiagnosed as having bipolar disorder?
As was previously mentioned, unipolar depression is the most typical misdiagnosis for bipolar patients. Antidepressant misuse, which can lead to manic episodes and accelerate cycling, is a risk associated with an incorrect diagnosis of unipolar depression. You must have experienced at least one manic or hypomanic episode in order to be diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Your mood is uncomfortable, for example, which is a sign of manic behavior. In particular after depression, it might feel good at first.The first manic episode has the highest likelihood of being hallucinatory. One study found mood-incongruent psychosis in 77 percent of adolescents experiencing their first manic episodes,46 which increases the risk of misdiagnosis. Psychotic symptoms are more likely to be mood incongruent than mania later in life.It is common for bipolar individuals to experience racing thoughts and flight of ideas during manic episodes. These two concomitant symptoms involve extremely quick thought processes that occasionally jump from subject to subject at an amazing rate.Bipolar II disorder is a form of the illness where people alternate between hypomanic and depressive episodes, but never mania.
How does a doctor identify bipolar disorder?
A physical examination, questions about your symptoms, and a recommendation for blood work are all steps a doctor will take to determine whether bipolar disorder is the source of your symptoms, as opposed to another condition like hypothyroidism. A psychological assessment is carried out by the doctor if an underlying cause of your symptoms cannot be identified. Therefore, a blood test could be used to identify people with bipolar disorder who are experiencing depressive episodes. Low blood levels of mBDNF can be used to accurately identify people with MDD or bipolar disorder, according to a 2021 study of a new assay test.The Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) is the bipolar disorder screening tool that is most frequently used. The MDQ is a self-report, one-page, paper-and-pencil inventory that can be quickly and easily scored by a doctor, nurse, or any other trained medical staff member.Therefore, a blood test could be used to identify people with bipolar disorder who are experiencing depressive episodes. Low blood levels of mBDNF can be detected in people with MDD or bipolar disorder with an accuracy rate of between 80 and 83 percent, according to a 2021 study of a new assay test.In fact, a 2018 review found that up to 40% of bipolar disorder sufferers receive an incorrect diagnosis, most frequently major depressive disorder. Even for doctors, it can be challenging to determine the best diagnosis.