Am i bi polar or what?

[Godb4me]

Okay, so i am sooooooo confused now! I have had panic attacks/depression/ocd symptoms etc etc.Sometimes every single anxiety disorder seems to fit!. Now i am starting to think i have hypochondria too!!!!! I just want so badly to know why i started having anxiety/depression like i guess i want it to be something physical so i can be normal again or whatever. Like i wish it was hypothryoidism/hyper or something that is really explainable, ya know? Its like...where did i go wrong? I was completely normal until the age of 29??? What the heck? No real issues just maybe mood swings quite often i guess. Now im on an emotional roller coaster every dang day. One day im okay, the next anxious, the next flat exausted, the next feeling a little more confident and so on. I don't do much and then i come home and take a nap like everyday. I don't feel depressed much just my mind all over the place in questions I am so sick of it! Like every week i wanna try to find out whats really wrong w/ me so i try to find something that fits me. I know this is not a good idea but something just drives me to do it and sometimes i get REALLY scared of some of the things i find. Anyway, i would love to hear from anybody. Does it sound like im bipolar or what??? I would especially love to hear from APPLE or OCDengineer 

[Godb4me]

oops i meant i was normal til i was 31 and im 33 now

[Josie]

I don't know.  I found out today that I may be bipolar.  Nothing fits in the psychiatric books so they are saying that I have bipolar tendencies. I am confused, too.   I would love to know what normal feels like. 
I don't know why it would start out of the blue for you.  It could be that those mood swings was just the start of it.  I wish I could tell you.  I hope that you are doing better.
Josie

[Godb4me]

thanks Josie, i hope you get better too. Ive been okay the last few days after starting  (ya know what i mean)? I guess i have pms or pmdd or who the heck knows. I really need to go to a realy psych doctor cuz my MD don't know what to do with me. Everyone talks about these triggers and maybe i had one of those that threw my anxiety into gear b/c ever since i had to do a psych clinical in school ive been freakin out, that was like 4 weeks ago though. Well, i sure hope your feeling better

 

[Josie]

Yeah, seeing a pysc doc would do you some good.  May even just a therapist.  I am so glad that you are doing better.  I am going through the "you know what" whick I don't think helps us out much. 
My therapist doesn't think that I am bipolar at all.  He thinks it all has to do with the med change.  I think I am starting to do better.  I am not sure yet.  LIke people tell me all the time.  "Don't be hard on your self".  Godb4U always.
Josie

[Godb4me]

to me, its almost like a hormonal imbalance i think??? Who knows. About the med change, isnt it really weird how you really cannot tell if its the meds causing you to feel how you feel? Also, i think i TRY to feel out how i feel to much or jst plain THINK too much! Does that make since? Anyway, have a good weekend girl!

[Josie]

It wouldn't hurt to go and see a doctor to check your hormones, thyroids, etc... .  Go and get a through exam. 
I think I am leveling out.  I too try to feel out how I am feeling and just plain over think a lot.  It makes sense.
Have a good weekend yourself.

[Godb4me]

Noone else ever feels like this????

[ocdengineer]

I used to worry about being Bipolar and Schizophrenic all the time.  Honestly, to be bipolar or schizophrenic in the true definition you wouldhave times of extreme mania where you could even hallucinate followed by so low a depression that you would not be able to function.  The problem, in my opinion at least with bipolar disorder is everyone is to some degree bipolar.  We all have our ups and downs.  My wife was diagnosed by a psychiatrist a few months back with bipolar disorder.  She just had really bad PMS after the birth of our second child.  A little post pardum depression and PMS and all of a sudden doctors are handing out antipsychotics.  I think what the majority of us need to do is stop worrying about the diagnosis and start worrying about the cause and how to get better.  I think you have an anxiety disorder of some kind like most everyone here.  Anxiety disorders come in all shapes and sizes and rarely do they mimic another.  In fact I will go out on a limb here and say that anxiety disorders are like snowflakes.  None are the same.  Some may have similar symptoms, but they are all different in some way.  The good thing is that the solution is the same no matter what.  Good physical health ie. (exercise and eating well) will help a lot.  Some sort of cognitive therapy whether it be CBT or meditation, yoga, relaxation tapes.  These all help you to train your body to relax under times of stress.  This is invaluable when dealing with an anxiety disorder.  Bipolar disorder has gone up in diagnosis about 800% in the last couple decades.  I don't think more people have bipolar disorder.  I think it is getting misdiagnosed.  I read a pamphlet from a doctors office that had 13 questions on it.  And if you answered a certain amount of them yes then you were considered bipolar.  It was ridiculous.  As an engineer with a wife in statistical psychology we both decided that the 13 question pamphlet was a bunch of BS.  I would not worry about it honestly and try to find some peace with healthy living.  I went on vacation and did some drinking, smoking, and didn't meditate.  I am now more anxious than I was before.  It is clear that I need to get back in the groove to decrease my anxiety.  I hope this helps a bit.  If you do suffer from severe mania and severe depression that go in nonstandard cycles, then you may want to tell that to your doctor, but it is pretty unlikely you have anything other than an anxiety disorder.  I am no doctor, but I think I have been where you are now.

Take care,
OE

[Josie]

I think a lot of us has been there, bought the t-Shirt, and now you can't throw it away.  I agree with OE.  Find a groove that fits you and groove right on it it. 
Have you checked out your blood levels to see if hormones are in the right gears?  I still recommend it.  I am thinking about it myself. 
I think I might be going though early menopause which is hereditary in my family.   
Take care and keep us up to date on how you are doing.

[Godb4me]

thanks...i had a cbc done...no hypoglycemia and my tsh was fine. A year ago i had the hormones done and they were fine too so anyway i guess that's that. I had that restlessness stuff again today but i did take a bcomplex and im not sure if that caused me to feel like that. However, bipolar is in my family... my brother has severe manic episodes ( he scares me), & mom's last diagnosis was schizoeffective but she had a hallucination ONE time in her lifetime and that was when she stopped taking her meds which was OFTEN! COLD TURKEY...anyway, she  just told me that everything always started looking strange? Sounds like depersonalization to me. Who knows im scared though

[Josie]

 I have found times where I had become depersonalized.  I think it was due to the medications that I was on.  Just try to relax during a restlessness stage. Put a smile on your face and tell yourself, it isn't going to last long.  I am okay.  God is my strength and my refuge.  God has given me a sound mind, spirit and soul.
Say it so you mean it.   Fake it till you make it. use your faith.
  The other day I remembering the verse, "Ye though I walk through the Valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil for Thou art with me".  Don't fear the shadows in your life.  Shadows cant' hurt you.  They are only there because the Son of God is walking with you.  Where the light can't be shined upon, a shadow is cast.  Shadows fear the light.  Keep your heart open to Him and His light of love.
for you,
Josie

[Godb4me]

thanks Josie and Ocdengineer. I have calmed down on the trying to figure it out stuff and the symptoms have calmed down as well. The mind is such a powerful thing. Thanks josie for your inspiration. I get so caught up in the what if's and what symptoms im having that i forget what i believe in.

thanks again guys
godb4me.......&not against me=)

[Josie]

Be blessed 'cause Godb4u.  Smile , laugh , be kooky and enjoy life to overcome obstacles.   
Brighten up someone elses day with your angelic smile.
Josie