Ask Me Help Desk - Am I bi polar or not?

Am I bi polar or not?

I'm 17 years old and I'm a female. I have been on and off medications since I was 8 and since I was 14 I have had symptoms of being bi polar I have done my research on bi polar and I match up to the mania stage of bi polar I will get depressed and feel worthless and spend large amounts of money on things I usually wouldn't buy and cannot afford and I will get so angry and annoyed with people and I will push people away and not realize I have done it until afterwards and I will have ambitious plans and ideas and it will all get worse when my period starts to come around. I have smoked marijuana because it seems like the only thing that will keep me from going through all of the motions, I really need help because no one will listen to me.

You need to be diagnosed by a trained professional... this is not something an amateur can self diagnose. One can not view themselves objectively as a third person.

smoothy is right. It's never a good idea to diagnose yourself.

What medications have you been on since you were 8 years old? Are you regularly seeing a Doctor, and have you been diagnosed with any mental illness.

More information would be helpful.

I was on zoloft until I was 15 and slowly got myself off it and then I wasn't on any medications until now I am taking prozac for depression but it doesn't do anything for me. I see a therapist every week on tuesdays and thursdays just to talk about my problems and it only helps a little bit, its effecting me so much to where I don't know if I will graduate high school or not and if one little thing goes wrong I freak out about it and I will stay mad for days and sometimes months about certain things and I always have this fear that everyone is only out to hurt me and I had read that, that is a part of being bi polar I just don't see how I wouldn't be because I don't know anyone else that does the things that I do. Thank you for helping and answering my questions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by clav

I see a therapist every week on tuesdays and thursdays just to talk about my problems and it only helps a little bit

What do you two talk about? Are you telling the therapist about all the problems you have posted here? If so, what then does the therapist say to you?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wondergirl

What do you two talk about? Are you telling the therapist about all the problems you have posted here? If so, what then does the therapist say to you?

I have told her I think I am bi polar and all the problems I have and she said she doesn't think so that I might have pmdd instead of pms but I disagree because I'm like this more then just one week a month. I woke up this morning and I was in a good mood but through out the day I will go through mood swings.

Quote:

Originally Posted by clav

I have told her I think I am bi polar and all the problems I have and she said she doesn't think so that I might have pmdd instead of pms but I disagree because I'm like this more then just one week a month. I woke up this morning and I was in a good mood but through out the day I will go through mood swings.

The therapist should refer you to a psychiatrist (a really good one!) who will figure this out and, with your agreement, put you on a med for a try-out time to see if that helps. I think it is worth a try. At your age, you should have the world by the tail and be looking toward an exciting and bright future.

My uncle was bipolar and did very well and was normal (no mood swings, no acting out, no extreme shopping) while on a certain drug (it varies for each individual as to what med will work the best -- and it may take a bit of shuffling of meds to find the right one) -- and finally his depressive and manic episodes disappeared. Only when he messed up and stopped taking his meds because he felt so good did he fall back into the bipolar void and his neighbors would call me to get help for him. He didn't realize he felt good because he was taking the meds. He thought he had been cured.