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Atypical bipolar - Four signs of difficult-to-diagnose bipolar disorder
Atypical bipolar disorder is rarely talked about, mainly because it has no defining characteristics. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association includes a category for NOS, i.e. not as specified. Some forms of bipolar can be difficult to diagnose because they do not fit into a standard behavioral pattern. Here are the four signs the APA classifies as indicative of atypical bipolar disorder. 1.) Rapid mood swings Typically, a manic or depressive mood must last for days to be classified as bipolar disorder. However, in some cases, manic symptoms do not meet the requirements for a...
Atypical bipolar - Four signs of difficult-to-diagnose bipolar disorder
Atypical bipolar disorder is rarely talked about, mainly because it has no defining characteristics. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association includes a category for NOS, i.e. not as specified. Some forms of bipolar can be difficult to diagnose because they do not fit into a standard behavioral pattern. Here are the four signs the APA classifies as indicative of atypical bipolar disorder.
1.) Rapid mood swings
Typically, a manic or depressive mood must last for days to be classified as bipolar disorder. However, in some cases, manic symptoms do not meet the minimum duration considered for a diagnosis. Of course, not everyone fits into a neat little box, so different people with bipolar disorder experience different levels of severity and duration of their symptoms.
2.) Recurrent hypomanic episodes
When a person with bipolar disorder has a mood swing in one direction like a pendulum, it swings back in the other direction. Usually this means that a hypomanic episode leads to mild to severe depression. In atypical bipolar disorder, a person can go from a hypomanic phase to normal and back again, skipping the depressive phase.
3.) Cloudy data
Sometimes medications can mimic the effects of bipolar disorder. For example, methamphetamines can mimic the onset of mania, although the effects are the temporary side effect of a drug. If a psychiatrist is unsure whether bipolar is caused by drugs, it is classified as atypical.
4.) Coexisting diseases
Mental disorders are interconnected, so it can sometimes be difficult to tell which one someone has. Sometimes a person exhibits symptoms of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder together, making it difficult to determine whether the person is schizophrenic or manic depressive. In cases where disorders are stacked on top of each other, someone may be classified as atypically bipolar.
Inspired by Paula Capp