"I have mood swings up and down, hyper times when all I do is talk talk talk and then I get low and depressed. Bipolar runs in my family... could I have it? How do I find out?"
The best thing you can do is of course see a doctor (psych doc). To help, keep a mood journal for at lest two weeks before you see him/her.
http://printable-mood-journal.qarchive.org/
Is a good site for an interactive journal. Keeping everything logged will help your doctor get a better look at your affect disorder and lead to a more thorough and complete diagnosis.
The is a broad spectrum of affect (mood) disorders... from rapid cycling bipolar, bipolar I, bipolar II, cyclothymia, etc.
Most importantly, I would *not* look up further disorders until you have seen your doctor. Only keep track of the symptoms that cause you distress and interfere with your life. Those are the true signs of a disorder and something that should be treated.
Sometimes, if we look at a list of symptoms of a disorder or disease we think we may have... our mind can produce or enhance those already existing qualities we may have which are similar to the diagnosis. Conversion disorder... the fears in our heads or reproduced in the form of physical symptoms. Just something to be cautious about!!
"I have mood swings up and down, hyper times when all I do is talk talk talk and then I get low and depressed. Bipolar runs in my family... could I have it? How do I find out?"
The best thing you can do is of course see a doctor (psych doc). To help, keep a mood journal for at lest two weeks before you see him/her.
http://printable-mood-journal.qarchive.org/
Is a good site for an interactive journal. Keeping everything logged will help your doctor get a better look at your affect disorder and lead to a more thorough and complete diagnosis.
The is a broad spectrum of affect (mood) disorders... from rapid cycling bipolar, bipolar I, bipolar II, cyclothymia, etc.
Most importantly, I would *not* look up further disorders until you have seen your doctor. Only keep track of the symptoms that cause you distress and interfere with your life. Those are the true signs of a disorder and something that should be treated.
Sometimes, if we look at a list of symptoms of a disorder or disease we think we may have... our mind can produce or enhance those already existing qualities we may have which are similar to the diagnosis. Conversion disorder... the fears in our heads or reproduced in the form of physical symptoms. Just something to be cautious about!!
~Ann