Posted by Ritch on March 22, 2003, at 10:15:03
In reply to i guess im bi polar, posted by jonh kimble on March 21, 2003, at 21:07:49
....Im 19 and they say the real mood swings dont start till your in late 20's usually. Is this the experience you all have had? is the fact that i feel depressed all the time contradictory to this diagnosis? is severe social anxiety and add ever a part of bi polar or is this separate? i guess the fact that my uncle is severely bi polar helps fit the diagnosis. but i heard bi polars who try normal ads go manic and this didnt happen to me....
That's been my experience. I've had intense depressive periods all the way through childhood, but sustained (more than a few hours) elevated mood episodes didn't get really prominent until my late teens and esp. my 20's. Depression predominating in BPII is very common. It still burns about half the year for me, while the highs probably take up about 3 days out of every 20 on average. Social anxiety goes up and down with my moods. When I'm depressed I get very socially withdrawn. When I get high the reverse tends to happen. I believe I have comorbid ADD, however. At least one pdoc thought so, too, anyhow. The ADD can also worsen at both mood extremes. Highs put too much on your plate to deal with, lows slow down your brain and make it hard to function. When my mood is relatively normal I still have a lot of absent-minded inattentiveness problems. SSRI's are the only AD's that seem to trigger worsened cycling and manic spells for me. Sometimes the AD can make you just irritable instead.
poster:Ritch
thread:211285
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030319/msgs/211399.html