So I know that it isn't recommended to attempt to diagnose someone over the internet, but that's not what I'm asking. Basically, I'm an 18 year old who has been seeing therapists for depression. Recently, I've been watching the show shameless and one of the characters had bipolar disorder. He seemed a bit like me so I did some research into the illness. Sometimes, ill have periods of what seem like the "manic" periods described in BPD. most of the rest of the time I'm just depressed, hence the Depression diagnosis, but I read that often BPD is misdiagnosed as Depression because the sufferers "manic" phases are seen as normal to them so they don't mention it. Trying to think if this could be the case to me, I asked some friends, some of them said that I sometimes seem "hyper" for no reason. I either sleep heaps or **** all (though that is also a symptom of depression). I recently started taking Zoloft which made more of these manic episodes happen more often, which I heard can happen with BPD. My only doubt is that these manic episodes don't last as long as the websites say, often only a day or few, though maybe I just only notice the worst of it. The Depression periods last as long as the sites say for BPD.
basically, I need the advice of someone with experience with BPD. Not to make a diagnosis, but to ask if this seems like it was for you if you ended up being diagnosed. And also to ask if it's worth mentioning to my Psych.
Thanks in advance
“It is such a mysterious place, the land of tears.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
Honestly, only a professional can give you an official diagnosis. Tell you the truth, it took years for me to get a diagnosis of Bipolar after years of "trial and error". I would mention things to your therapist and let them decide rather than try to diagnose yourself. Be cautious of what you see on TV, what applies to one person may not apply to you.
Sorry, I thought I managed to get my point across in the first message but I mustnt have made it properly clear. I'm NOT looking for anyone to diagnose me on here, only to determine if my situation is close enough to someone else's to be worth asking my psychologist about it instead
“It is such a mysterious place, the land of tears.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
Are you suffering from the classic emotional dysregulation? This could manifest as manic or depressive stages but a "popular" emotion is anger. My mood swings can last seconds or hours but the first emotion is usually intense anger, often followed by depression or sometimes the "emptiness" that many with BPD describe feeling.
Do you dissociate or having intense feelings of emptiness?
Do you intensely fear being left alone, especially by your "favourite person" (if you have one)?
Do you switch between thinking your loved ones are perfect and loving them and hating them and thinking they are awful?
Are you impulsive (unsafe sex, drugs, alcohol, general recklessness)?
Do you self harm or/and have you attempted suicide in the past/feel suicidal?
Do you have a unclear "sense of self"? (For example, i have always adopted other's personality traits and quirks as my own and act completely differently depending on who i'm with)
If you can answer yes to at least a couple of these, it's worth speaking to your GP. I'd recommend going in and explaining your symptoms and how they are affecting you, as well as what treatment you want to seek. It could be useful to take a notepad with this information on - i suffer with memory loss and anxiety (which makes me even more forgetful and eager to leave asap!) so my notepad was indispensable.
Hope this helped a little
Lora :)
Rarely on here nowadays - I just trauma dump on TikTok instead.
Are you suffering from the classic emotional dysregulation? This could manifest as manic or depressive stages but a "popular" emotion is anger. My mood swings can last seconds or hours but the first emotion is usually intense anger, often followed by depression or sometimes the "emptiness" that many with BPD describe feeling.
Do you dissociate or having intense feelings of emptiness?
Do you intensely fear being left alone, especially by your "favourite person" (if you have one)?
Do you switch between thinking your loved ones are perfect and loving them and hating them and thinking they are awful?
Are you impulsive (unsafe sex, drugs, alcohol, general recklessness)?
Do you self harm or/and have you attempted suicide in the past/feel suicidal?
Do you have a unclear "sense of self"? (For example, i have always adopted other's personality traits and quirks as my own and act completely differently depending on who i'm with)
If you can answer yes to at least a couple of these, it's worth speaking to your GP. I'd recommend going in and explaining your symptoms and how they are affecting you, as well as what treatment you want to seek. It could be useful to take a notepad with this information on - i suffer with memory loss and anxiety (which makes me even more forgetful and eager to leave asap!) so my notepad was indispensable.
Hope this helped a little
Lora :)
Ok, i have to admit, as much as your reply helped, it kinda freaked me out! I dont think i know enough about disassociation to comment on it, but there are so many times that i feel numb, or 'empty'. Your comment about having a person youre afraid will leave you alone freaked me out, because i really do, almost to the point that i think my attachment to this person is unhealthy. My friends would definitely describe me as reckless sometimes, not so much with unsafe sex but with drugs, alcohol, driving, and authority in general (law enforcement, school staff, etc). I self harm, and have attempted suicide twice before. That last point i agreed with, but im not sure if that could be a symptom or just what some people do (its normal human behavior to adapt to social situations)
Thanks for replying, as some of those things i never saw listed as common symptoms on mental health websites. I think maybe i will mention this to my Psychologist
“It is such a mysterious place, the land of tears.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
also, i forgot maybe the biggest one on there, but the anger thing as well. If something small goes wrong (note that it is rarely unprovoked anger) i get angry and can only release this anger physically. My bedroom wall at home has been subjected to this anger many times via my fist. I swing between being extremely angry one moment and just completely numb the next.
“It is such a mysterious place, the land of tears.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
The problem with diagnoses is that there are usually a few that can overlap as well as adding in normal life stuff that can appear in a similar way to a mental health issue.
If you are concerned about your mood keeping a fist of how your mood is each day and if there had been any triggers or different things you have done that day which could explain your mood.
It can take a while to work out the cause and effects necessary to make a diagnosis. Do you think you could speak to a health professional about this?
I spoke to my mental health nurse that I see when i saw him today. He didnt really give me much of an indication as to what he thought though. I didnt really press it. I dont really want another mental illness to make my life even harder, and I just dont know if having a diagnosis will help or hurt.
“It is such a mysterious place, the land of tears.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
