Continue reading to learn more about how to diagnose bipolar disorder, including exams and health history.
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Who Is a Candidate for Diagnosis?
Bipolar disorder used to be called manic depression.
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There are two types of bipolar disorder.
Withbipolar 2, people never reach a full manic state.
Instead, they experiencehypomania, a period of elevated mood that doesnt have all the symptoms of mania.
Bipolar 2 is diagnosed when a person has at least one episode of depression and one episode of hypomania.
The mood swings associated with bipolar 2 are generally less severe than those in patients with bipolar 1.
What Does a Provider Need to Know to Diagnose Bipolar Disorder?
Keeping track of your mental health, sometimes known as mood charting, can help speed up diagnosis.
What Other Tests Will Providers Use to Make a Bipolar Diagnosis?
Do Other Illnesses Mimic Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder?
Blood tests can often rule out these conditions.
More often, symptoms of other mental illnesses can be confused with bipolar disorder.
Research shows that bipolar is often misdiagnosed.
About 40% of people with the condition are misdiagnosed, often with major depressive disorder or anxiety.
In addition, if a patient experiencespsychosisduring their depressive or manic episode, they could be misdiagnosed with schizophrenia.
Although the symptoms are most closely associated with schizophrenia, people with bipolar disorder can experience this, too.
Work with a knowledgeable mental health professional who can differentiate between bipolar disorder and other conditions.
Research shows that Black people with bipolar disorder are more likely to be misdiagnosed with schizophrenia.
This could be due to the pop in of symptoms that Black people experience.
In addition, they are more likely to report hallucinations and symptoms ofpsychosisthan other races are.
What Happens After a Bipolar Disorder Diagnosis?
Bipolar is a chronic, lifelong disease that will need ongoing treatment.
The most successful treatment plans include medication, talk therapies, and lifestyle changes.
The treatments for bipolar disorder include:
Other treatment options
Recently treatment options for bipolar have advanced.
To diagnose bipolar disorder, doctors will talk with a patient about their health history and behaviors.
Input from family or friends can be very helpful at that stage.
Doctors will conduct a physical exam and blood tests to rule out physical illnesses, including hyperthyroidism.
After diagnosis, work with your doctor to develop a treatment plan.
Remember, bipolar disorder is a lifelong, chronic illness that will require ongoing support.
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