Bipolar and cPTSD

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So I'm bipolar and suffer with symptoms of cPTSD.

It definitely complicates the already complex things I struggle with.

Anyone here with similar of same comorbid diagnosis?

I have cPTSD but not Bipolar though I have suggested it many times to psychologists as a good label for me and its been dismissed. I also have Dysthymia and Depersonalization disorder. With that said I don't always hold these things in mind.

Good to know I'm not alone with bring on the PTSD spectrum.

My bipolar shows through manic episodes; from feeling invincible to devastatingly defeated.

that's the thing, I don't outwardly show my ups and downs, and because of this my psychs think I am just fine, so maybe I am not Bipolar even still, I have been in DBT groups and counseling and it has been really helpful. How are you managing things?

Oh ok. It could be a plethora of other diagnoses, so don't give up. It also doesn't mean you're not bipolar, as it shows differently in everybody. So, keep trying to get recommendations from other dr's.

Good luck.

As for me, I'm handling things relatively well. I acknowledge my feelings and do my best to work through them, with more success than not, as of late.

Thank you.

have you run into complications with it not being an official diagnosis?

Can't say I have. I assume I exert all of the stereotyped symptoms of someone constantly on some level of mania, be it low or high.

So, I guess that I'm easily diagnosable with bipolar.

Also, living with autism tends to "up the antics" of "fun" in my spiraling nature of nonstop Euphoria or Devastation.

sorry SandWitch, my post lacked signage.

I meant c-ptsd not being an official diagnosis.

It was suggested in my file way back in the late 1990's,

then a few years ago it got out of hand, and I felt I wasnt taken seriously as it is not in the DSM.

Oh yes, with cPTSD not being an official diagnosis, it hasn't caused me any blockage in mental health services pertaining to being diagnosed officially with PTSD.

Most Dr's know that with such an official diagnosis of "PTSD" that there's always potential for it consisting of a complex variety of PTSD; being exposed to multiple severely traumatizing events in their lifetime that overlap.

I don't believe that my PTSD diagnosis alone, not being considered yet to be included as a separate diagnosis of cPTSD in the annually released DSM manual has effected my treatments or that they would even change my regimen of treatment options for it.

Dissociation is my biggest struggle.. I call it "time-travelling" because it's the best way to explain how it feels from my perspective.

My girlfriend very likely has CPTSD & might could have bipolar as well. She had a rough childhood & grew up in a very sh!tty town where most everyone was fairly rich & since her family was dirt poor working for the rich for minimum wage, they were treated as pariahs. She's been in some very abusive friendships where the "friends" used her & took advantage of her & then accused her of the stuff they were doing & projected their own sh!t onto her. Cass also grew up having some extreme beliefs pushed on her like thoughts have power. If she ever had a negative thought & something bad would happen, it would be her fault for having the bad thought. She also was taught that pride was a sin. She tried to discuss having PTSD with her counselor & she was told she does not have it because she was never in a life & death situation. She was told she may have little t trauma but not big T because she was never in immediate danger. Basically she cant have PTSD because her stuff was long term instead of more dangerous & quicker like surviving a natural disaster, being raped, or being in a car crash. She has most of the PTSD symptoms but PTSD got brushed off. She also has rapid mood swings & seems kinda like a different person in some ways. Things she normally is not bothered by or even likes when she's in a more happier mood can majorly upset her when she's in a more extreme bad mood. She could be in mostly the same mood for a month but other times her moods can majorly change every few minutes. Lots of mental disorders run in her family including Bipolar & Borderline Personality & we both suspect that she has one or both of those on top of other stuff. She has been seeing a psychiatrist for the last 5 years & that might be helping some but she tends to have negative reactions to meds. Her psychiatrist & the counselors she's seen at different points in her life tend to avoid diagnosing her with various things. They tend to just say Depression & Anxiety which she does have very bad but there is much more going on besides that.