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"Emotional breakdown" vs. bipolar (Pam)
I have been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder while i was admitted into
the hospital. I am 44 years old and have never had a manic episode to the
best of my knowledge. My question being...what concrete evidence is there
to convince me I do have the disorder. What difference is there between
an emotional breakdown and a manic episode. Thank you very much. Pam
Dear Pam
There is a long section about diagnosis of bipolar disorder
without obvious "mania" on my site at Psycheducation.org.
Not everyone with an "emotional breakdown", who does not have obvious manic
episodes, has "bipolar II" -- but it's a possibility worth learning about.
Generally a "breakdown" is a term people use to describe any episode
where someone becomes completely non-functional due to their emotions.
There are several possible reasons. If some kind of substance use
(e.g. alcohol or speed or cocaine) is not in the picture, other possibilities
include: a thyroid problem (most common amongst the medical problems that
can produce emotional symptoms); major depression (depression with no evidence
of anything "hypomanic" or cyclic); bipolar variations; and what generally
gets lumped as "personality disorder", a poorly researched wastebasket
term.
Dr. Phelps
Published September, 2000
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