Is schizophrenia the same as bi-polar.?

Question:

I have a friend who has the symptoms of schizophrenia (hallucinations, hearing voices) when he goes off his meds., but he tells everyone he's bi-polar.

Answers:
I agree that they are 2 different disorders, however there are people who have been diagnosed with both of these disorders. Another more likely possibility is that your friend realizes that there is much more stigma and fear and lack of understanding for schizophrenia than there is for bipolar, and so chooses to categorize himself as having the more "socially acceptable" diagnosis.

They are two completely different disorders.

No they are entirely different diseases, but there's no reason that he couldn't be both. Bipolar is a mood disorder, schizophrenia is an illness regarding cognitive function and determing reality from fantasy.

They are no where NEAR the same thing

But often, folks with Bi-polar have a higher tendency to also have other mental illnesses.

Bi-polar disorder is a depressive condition. Schizophrenia is a psychosis. If you are bi-polar, then you are manic-depressive and you can be treated with anti-depressants. If you are schizophrenic, then you should be treated with anti-psychotics. Many therapists consider schizophrenia to be cognitive disorder, rather than a mood disorder.

schizophrenia is a very broad disorder. It is different than Bi-Polar but there is no saying that one may not have both disorders or may have Bi-polar behaviors as a result of schizophrenia. Thats just the way mental disorders are.

Try looking up DSM-IV for an exact diagnosis of each.

completely different. He could suffer from both, or is using bi-polar as an escuse for his behaviour as socially it carries less stigma (it is a form of depression)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/schizophren.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/bi-polar.

No! Sounds more schizo to me. My daughter is bi-polar and when shes off her meds she just has majar mood changes.

I was married to someone with Bi-Polar and read everything I could get my hands on during that time. The person had Hallucinations, dilusions and real real bad mood swings when not medicated. Maybe they are both? My x was mis-diganosed for years as Schizo but then as Bi-Polar later.
Could it be both? I know that Bi-Polar people do have the symptoms you describe without meds or taking the wrong ones.
Lithium heps some people alot but not all. It isn't even a drug, it is a salt. Your friend may be telling the truth. It is a very sad situation for these people and unfortunately their pain rubs off all around them. A lot of them are really smart though! The guy who invented the sun roof was Bi-Polar. I think my x got the best help from a University affiliated hospital. I also know that their biggest problem is realizing that they "Have" to take their meds. They start feeling normal then stop, then they have a relapse of the horrid symptoms.

It is possible your friend has "Schizo-affective disorder". That is, he has some of the symptoms of schizophrenia and some symptoms of a mood disorder. Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are not the same but it isn't uncommon to have symptoms of both disorders. Schizophrenia is a disorder that can cause disintegration of the personality.Bipolar disorder is a disorder that effects the mood.ranging from depression to mania.

NO, as everyone has said, bipolar and schizophrenia are different (albeit related) illnesses. However, bipolar mania can also include psychosis, complete with hallucinations and delusions (I've had delusions but not hallucinations FWIW).

In bipolar, the psychosis is always associated with a mood episode, but in schizophrenia, psychosis can occur at any time. For real fun, there is also a condition called schizoaffective disorder, sometimes referred to as 'the bastard child of bipolar and schizophrenia'. Effectively, it is both illnesses at the same time.

So your friend is probably right, and off his meds experiences psychosis.

They are different disorders but can share similar symptoms, such as delusions. There's an illness called Schizoaffective Disorder which has significant symptoms of both schizophrenia and bipolar or major depressive disorder. He probably says he has bipolar disorder simply because that illness has less stigma than schizophrenia. Even today when some misinformed people hear "schizophrenia" they think of crazed, violent or even homicidal "maniacs".

It is highly possible to have hallucinations and hear voices with bipolar disorder. It is part of the disorder for some people, although for him, likely the mood symptoms (depression and mania) are more prominent, which is how he received that diagnosis.

Is schizophrenia the same as bi-polar.?

Health Resources