DID vs. Bipolar

Post Reply New Topic

It was interesting to me, I started strongly suspecting that I was bipolar (still not sure), but I thought it might be mild, but also that I fluctuate between manic and depressed sometimes within hours depending on environmental triggers, and will have flashbacks and (visual) hallucinations when I'm feeling really bad, but it can get problematic when I'm traveling home or something and I suddenly lose touch with reality (but I am aware of it, like I realize, oh wait I'm actually on a train right now..). It started to scare me a bit. Anyway, so one time after I spent the entire night completely awake and was just walking up and down and feeling VERY manic (I don't know why though!) and then able to function perfectly the next day- better than usual actually I had so much energy. But sort of frightened by my own manic-ness my roommate was like- you might be bipolar, but then I started looking up DID and I felt like- oh damn, I had basically every single thing they talked about. ( I dont think that there are multiple of me inside my head though...I know it's only me...)

Also, I never suffered severe abuse. That's the thing that gets me; everything I read about DID the people have super-traumatic terrible lives, my life isn't like that.
I have no "reason" for DID, so then I was like maybe it's just bi-polar.
So, I was like- how do people differentiate between real bipolar and the bipolar-ness of DID?
Also, Idk where I could get diagnosed for this kind of stuff! (I'm in the US ).
Any ideas/anecdotes/others with Bipolar?

Talk to a general practitioner doc about your symptoms & ask for a referral to a psychiatrist. That's how I started seeing one. I had some of the same symptoms you described when I was suffering from a psychotic depression. I thought I was bipolar thou & so did my GP but the psych he referred me to ruled it out. I'm NOT saying psychotic depression is what you have thou but a psych would be most trained to figure out what you have & treat it.

Hmm, interesting. I've never brought up this with a doctor before. I guess that'll have to be the case I don't have a GP right now, but I just got insurance so I guess I'll have to get one then. Another interesting adventure into mental health land
I'm really curious about this because I definitely can tell it's out of the norm. (like most things self related haha)

One doctor diagnosed me with bipolar disorder, but my other doctors since then have disagreed with it. You have to keep in mind that in bipolar disorder there are distinct periods lasting for days at least of either mood depression or mood elevation in which there is a clear change in behavior as seen by the people who know you well. This is especially true for the mood elevation of mania and hypomania. In mania, you become very active but self-destructive and your behavior and affect would generally be very disturbing to anyone who sees you, especially the people who know you well.