Are You Depressed or Do You Have Bipolar Disorder?

Millions of Americans suffer from depression. Perhaps you or a loved one have been diagnosed with, or sought medical treatment for depression. Although medicine can help, the right diagnosis needs to be made in order for treatment to be effective. Unfortunately, it is often difficult to tell the difference between depression and bipolar disorder.

In fact, it is not uncommon for people with bipolar disorder to initially receive a misdiagnosis of depression. Even medical professionals have a hard time telling these two conditions apart. Luckily, if you take a little bit of time to educate yourself about the features that distinguish these diseases from one another, you can make sure that you receive the proper diagnosis and you will soon be on your way to recovery.

Bipolar disorder, which is also known as manic depression, is a mental illness characterized by unusual highs and lows in a person's mood. People with bipolar disorder experience periods when they feel tired, down, and just generally depressed. These periods can last for many months or even years, which is why they are often initially diagnosed with depression.

The flip side to this, however, is that bipolar people also have periods known as ''mania'' where they feel unusually good or energetic. During these manic periods, people find that they don't need as much sleep as normal. They will usually be more talkative and outgoing than usual, and may also be more interested in spending money or engaging in sexual activity. The longer that bipolar disorder goes untreated, the worse the mania can get. People experiencing severe mania may suffer from feelings that they are invincible or even hallucinations, either of which could lead to dangerous or suicidal behavior.

It is these manic periods that really make the difference between a diagnosis of depression and a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Often, bipolar individuals have periods of feeling "normal" between mania and depression. And since people are much more likely to ask for help when they're feeling bad than when they're feeling good, these manic periods often go unreported when they finally seek treatment.

So, what does all of this mean to you? Well, if you've been feeling ''down" or depressed, I would certainly encourage you to talk to your doctor. But before you do, ask yourself some basic questions. Has there ever been a period of time in your life where you've felt unusually "good," "up," or "happy?" A period where you needed less sleep than normal? Perhaps you were more interested in sex or shopping than normal? Was there a time when you were reckless, or ran up a lot of debt and/or got in trouble with the law?

If the answer to any of these questions is "Yes," be sure to tell your doctor, even if he/she doesn't specifically ask. If you're not sure, ask your doctor point-blank if they think you could be bipolar. Many of the medicines used to treat depression can actually make bipolar disorder worse, so make sure you get the right diagnosis the first time.

Feeling Like a Bit of a Failure

I've definitely been feeling like a bit of a failure lately.  My early thirties are going by quicker than I care to think about, and the truth is that there are a lot of things wrong in my life.  I don't have my own apartment....or even my own car.  I don't have the relationship I want.  I'm certainly not pleased with my personal income.  And don't get me started on my weight.

I feel like everytime I go to make a "big change," things are so difficult and it is just so much easier to stick with the status quo.  I want a better life for myself, but I don't know if I have the willpower or patience that is going to be required to make it happen.

I'm just feeling blah tonight.  I don't want to be a loser the rest of my life, but if I don't make big moves, that's what is going to happen.  I'm going to spend the evening writing and reflecting....hopefully I'll cheer up and be in a better position to get back on track tomorrow.

It's Hard Not to Think About the Negative

As I've mentioned, I am a big believer in the law of attraction.  I've been reading a book called "The Success Principles" by Jack Canfield, and it is really good.  I'm only about a quarter of the way through it, but one of the recurring themes is that the experiences you have are a result of the patterns of thinking you have...what you predominantly focus on is what you are going to manifest in your life.

To that end, I've really been trying to take time to just daydream and allow myself to think about what a perfect life would be like.  I feel really positive after I do that, so I know that it's good for me.

But then very real thoughts and circumstances come up during the day which suck.  Most recently, I've just been angry about a lot of things in my life.  Angry about my financial situation, angry about my relationship status...just grrrrrrr angry about a lot of stuff. x-(

If I believe in the law of attraction, which I do, I've created those situations in my life by what I've been thinking.   And to a large extent I do see where that's true...even though it is a tough pill to swallow.  But when I think about those things, which are still very real parts of my life, I feel sad, hurt, mad, etc.  Its hard to snap out of that.  Its hard to feel good about being broke or being single.

But I know that to turn things around, I need to really start to change how I look at things.  So today, that's what I'm going to try to do.

Feeling Down

Today was kind of a blah day.  I didn't follow Weight Watchers at all, and I smoked like a chimney.  When I'm feeling down, all I want to do is smoke and eat...it's so unhealthy.

But, I did find out that my credit score improved.  And I found a really good book on The Law of Attraction that I started to read.  More on both of those things later.  But for now, it's time for me to get to bed so I can try to get as many things as possible back on track tomorrow.