Posted by Seedwoman on February 23, 1999, at 14:07:34
In reply to Atypical Bipolar???, posted by Elaine on February 19, 1999, at 22:15:23
I am not a professional so I can't answer your question directly. However, my sister was diagnosed as bipolar..."sort of" (her words). she suffered from severe depression but never mania as I understand it; perhaps a kind of hypomania, but along the lines of non-stop talking and frantic behavior without any feelingsof euphoria. She was also subject to intense rage, really uncontrollable and frightening and sometimes followed by a severe depressive episode.
this may not be very helpful, but at least it's data.
seems to me that dx of bipolar vs. a personality disorder would make an enormous difference in treatment strategies so it does seem important to clarify this. best of luck to you.
> I feel like I am in a diagnosis maze. My former therapist thought DID (but personalities don't emerge by themselves). She also thought personality disorder (my guess is at least Avoidant, which does seem to fit). My psydoc says atypical bipolar. I know some dx bipolar when they don't subscribe to DID, so the dx's are not so different. However, bipolar was dx'd because, in addition to chronic and sometimes acute depression, I have reported occasional anger that is so intense I say or do something foolhardy because the anger has to be released immediately. Has anyone heard of bipolar with anger, not associated with mania (I have read that anger can follow mania when things don't come to fruition)? How does one narrow down a diagnosis? Depression, anxiety, anger... so typical. My current therapist doesn't like diagnoses, but I am on lithium and gabapentin, which I could be on for life with a psydoc's dx of bipolar, so it matters to me. I don't feel I fit any textbook diagnosis. How are mood disorders effectively treated when you don't know their roots? Aren't you simply treating symptoms? Sorry for rambling. Any contributions are welcome, but my main question is: is there any variant of bipolar with anger and *no* mania?
poster:Seedwoman
thread:3079
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990201/msgs/3164.html