How can I tell if I am bi-polar or manic-depressiv.

Question:

A co-worker who has a background in counseling told me today that she thinks that I am bipolar. I am already on medication for clinical depression, but it hasn't been diagnosed as anything other than a seratonin imbalance. I sleep a normal amount: 6-7 hours a night. I feel good, but not high. I haven't had a depressive episode since my most recent ex broke up with me for a married man she had been cheating on me with (I call that a mitigating circumstance). The only warning sign that I agreed with (she felt that I was over-confident and moving "a million miles an hour" which I attribute to a new excercise regime and weight loss) was that I spend money compulsively, but I have always been something of a wastrel. Opinions? I can't afford to see my doctor right now, but am planning on going ASAP.

Answers:
Symptoms of Bi-polar:

http://www.symbyax.com/understanding/depression_symptoms.jsp?reqNavId=2.4

However, see a doctor before self diagnosing or letting a co-worker diagnose you.

My sister was diagnosed as Bi-polar about a year and a half ago.

We had a very abusive childhood and all of us have struggles with Post Traumatic Stress and Depression. My sister seemed more severe. All of her emotions seemed very extreme (good and bad). However, to her, they seemed only slightly stronger than what she observed in others. She drank a lot but assumed she just enjoyed the party lifestyle. Living where she lived, there was a lot of that and from her perspective she didn't think she partied more than a lot of the people her age, around her.

Prior to the diagnosis for Bi-polar she had been diagnosed as having Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and chronic depression. Looking back it seems that she must have seen the doctor during one of her depressive cycles and it was assumed she was suffering from chronic depression.

She took her depression medication and she just got worse. Finally she attempted suicide. She called me just after she had cut her wrist and taken sleeping pills. I went to her home and took her to the hospital and she was admitted to a psyche ward. After several weeks in the hospital, they were able to get a full picture of her condition and diagnosed her as Bi-polar.

It took several months of therapy and working with her doctors to get the medication right. She had doctors who just wanted to leave her on the medication she was already on and prescribe therapy, but she didn't believe it was working for her. She insisted they keep trying. She even changed doctors once. Finally she found a doctor and a therapist that she worked well with. She got her medication stabilized.

As her treatment progressed she became more self aware about her body and emotions and how the interacted. She began to be able to catch her cycles early on and get the help she needed to get through them. She is now doing very well, living on her own, supporting herself and going back to school.

Other Answers:
Tell your doctor about your concerns. In the meantime google "Bipolar" and look up info. about it. http://www.bipolar.com

bi-polar and manic depression are the same thing. two names for the same thing there slick.

You really need to get a proper diagnosis. A background in counselling does not qualify someone to make a mental health diagnosis. Psychiatrists have at least seven years of training and only they are qualified to make a diagnosis.
It sounds as if you are doing ok, however if you are really in need then you must see a doctor straight away. Bi-polar is the newer, politically correct word for manic depression. They are essentially the same thing.

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How can I tell if I am bi-polar or manic-depressiv.

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