Is it possible to have one manic episode and NOT be BiPolar?!


Question: Definitely... in order to be classified as bipolar, you need to suffer periods of depression as well. It may not be what we (bipolar people) would consider a 'manic episode,' but I am sure stress and various other disorders can contribute to a temporary breakdown in which a person's defense mechanism/overcompensation is to reach full elation and go what I call "mad" (it's okay, I refer to myself as mad in my manias anyway.)

I think it is entirely possible (just about everything is possible regarding human mental health- we have some crazy stuff go on inside our heads! :) However, I don't know if you could consider a "manic episode" as related to the bipolar state of mania, simply because the brain chemistry must be profoundly different, and therefore can't be categorized as the same thing.

Just my thoughts.


Answers: Definitely... in order to be classified as bipolar, you need to suffer periods of depression as well. It may not be what we (bipolar people) would consider a 'manic episode,' but I am sure stress and various other disorders can contribute to a temporary breakdown in which a person's defense mechanism/overcompensation is to reach full elation and go what I call "mad" (it's okay, I refer to myself as mad in my manias anyway.)

I think it is entirely possible (just about everything is possible regarding human mental health- we have some crazy stuff go on inside our heads! :) However, I don't know if you could consider a "manic episode" as related to the bipolar state of mania, simply because the brain chemistry must be profoundly different, and therefore can't be categorized as the same thing.

Just my thoughts.

Yes, this can be just depression.

No. Bipolar disorder is diagnosed by the presence of one hypo/manic episode.

You may never have an episode again - manic or depressed - but in the eyes of the psychiatric community, you are bipolar.

If you were truly manic, you are truly bipolar.

No you only have to have one manic episode and it has to fit the following criteria:

1. A distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood, lasting at least one week (or any duration if hospitalization is necessary).
2. During the period of mood disturbance, three (or more) of the following symptoms have persisted (four if the mood is only irritable) and have been present to a significant degree:
-inflated self-esteem or grandiosity, potentially including grandiose delusions
-decreased need for sleep (e.g., feels rested after only 3 hours of sleep) or persistent difficulty falling asleep
-more talkative than usual or pressure to keep talking
flight of ideas or subjective experience that thoughts are racing
-distractibility (i.e., attention too easily drawn to unimportant or irrelevant external stimuli)
-increase in goal-directed activity (either socially, at work or school, or sexually) or psychomotor agitation
-excessive involvement in pleasurable activities that have a high potential for painful consequences (e.g., engaging in unrestrained buying sprees, sexual indiscretions, or foolish business investments)
3. The symptoms do not meet criteria for a Mixed Episode.
4. The mood disturbance is sufficiently severe to cause marked impairment in occupational functioning or in usual social activities or relationships with others, or to necessitate hospitalization to prevent harm to self or others, or there are psychotic features.
5. The symptoms are not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication, or other treatment) or a general medical condition (e.g., hyperthyroidism).

Som peole who are bipolar only experience one manic episode and suffer mostly with deprssion but its important that their depression is treated differently from people with "regular" depression becuase antidepressants can cause mania in bipolar people.





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