This has bothered me for a year. About a year ago (maybe a little more) I went to the doctor for a psychical and she suggested to my mom to take me to a therapist. I felt confused at the time because I didn't do anything wrong, she doesn't know me personally, I did what she asked me to do like anyone would. Then a few weeks later I got mixed up in a car crash and went to the same doctor (no I wan't driving and I came out without a scratch on me). I've noticed that she wrote down "Bipolar" on the paper and asked if I need some meds which made me more confused. The therapist I went to said I am completely normal and I just need some sleep (I cant sleep when I want to sleep). She suggested sleeping pills but I knew it would make it worse so I didn't accept it then that was the last time I've ever spoken to a therapist. There are times where I would get mood swings but that is rare, when people think Im depressed I am in reality in a good mood but I just I don't show it. Schizophrenia and Insomnia maybe but not Bipolar. What do you guys think made the doctor think I am Bipolar when she doesn't even know me?? Still to this day I've never figured it out. Should I go to another therapist to make sure???? EDIT: I don't cause any problems like start fights with the people around me. Im not a violent person ether. (Im not saying people with Bipolar are violent).
Schizophrenia is probably just you confusing it with Bipoarity. They can be confused if you just interpret it yourself. I would trust a doctor, after all, they are well educated and know what they are talking about. However, if you are sure it isn't bipolarity, you could always get a second opinion.
I second Noroz, it might be for the best to see a psychoanalyst or someone else in the field. It does seem like insomnia to me (or what I know of insomnia), the mood swings might just be an effect of not sleeping. If all the doctors are suggesting that there's something abnormal (not that there's anything wrong with you), I would recommend just trying therapy first, especially if you're wary of pills. Even if you've had bad experiences with therapy in the past--it takes some time to find someone you're actually comfortable with, but when you do, it can do you better than any medication. If you feel medication is necessary, there is no shame in that either.
Here' s a lung cancer radio : Spoiler Here' s a bipolar disorder radio : Spoiler Psychology isn' t an exact science. The reason your general doctor sent you to a specialist is pretty simple : she' s just not qualified to make a remotely trusty psychological diagnosis over a short discussion. That' s not her job. If the specialist didn' t notice anything strange and if you don' t feel that there' s something wrong with you ... then why would you want to look further ?
To be honest, I could talk about this for ages, I've deleted stuff In this post because it sounds uncaring and casual. I've had the same conflict before, wondering if I was going mad or crazy, whether it was Depression, Schizophrenia, Bipolar or nothing at all. Now when I finally settled on what I had, on Schizophrenia, I felt better. I felt like it wasn't some alien entity anymore, something that I couldn't control or understand but once that wall was broken, I just felt better. Over time I learnt how to deal and control it. I don't know what it was, what it is, but I know I can't let it affect my life in the same way anymore. Unfortunately it's hard to see, but it can be handled, as long as you're able and willing to do so. At least that's what I believe for people who suffer from mild forms of mental disorders. To be honest unless you detailed more about what the Psychiatrist said and what you believe you might have for what reasons I couldn't really make a good decision. I obviously can't officially diagnose Schizophrenia or Bipolar or Depression, but I've studied them both academically and personally, not to mention having first hand experience with Schizophrenia, that I could probably give you a well-informed decision. Or tell you I have no clue. Imagine: You've been diagnosed with leprosy by your new doctor, after a recent check up even though you have no history of it in your family, and never really known about it. So do you just accept this Doctor's opinion or do you want a second diagnosis? If you put 5 Psychologists on 1 patient, you could get 15 different possible diagnosis from it. Like you said its not an exact science so it's more an opinion diagnosis then a perfect diagnosis like a cough or a cold is (which can also be misdiagnosed) so a second opinion is especially needed in such circumstances.
Well, personally if I didn' t feel like I have a mental problem, if my relatives didn' t notice anything disturbingly strange in my behavior, and if a specialist told me there' s nothing wrong with me (as in "you don' t have to pay me more, nor to pay for a bunch of pills that were never proven to cure anything anyway") then no, I wouldn' t worry over a general doctor' s doubts. But that' s just me, if KIRA9400 can' t help having some nagging doubts I guess there' d be no harm in making sure. Oh, btw, I know you deliberately exaggerated, but if your math was accurate psychotherapists would just be a bunch of quacks, no amount of diagnosis could be reliable. ^^
You'd be surprised about the reliability of a number of health reports both physical and mental which have been taken into mainstream diagnosis. The DSM-IV-TR was published in 2000 whilst the original DSM-IV was published in 1994. So the latest edition was 12 years ago. Diagnosing mental disorders is one of the least reliable forms in medicine. Psychologists initially wonder if there is a possible psychosis in place, then come up with a general type of idea for the possible psychosis, and narrow it down to a select group of possible catergories. And depending on the person's unique symptoms could be classified with parts of several psychosis. That is what I mean. There was a program on the BBC a few years ago where 6 psychologists observed the behaviour of 10 participants over a weeks period. 4 of the participants had previously been diagnosed with different disorders and the psychologists had to assess who had which disorader. Safe to say, they only reliably matched one person up and had said 3 other people had a disorder before even though they hadn't, and even said that one participant, who had suffered depression and Schizophrenia, as never having being diagnosed with a disorder before. It showed how difficult it is for even trained and skilled psychologists how tough it can be to make a valid diagnosis.
Oh dear ... O_O With a whole week they only made a single matching diagnosis over ten patients (keeping in mind that matching =/= correct) ? It' s even worse than I thought ...
This study in itself had its own problems. Btw, I was off about the number of people, the program was called 'How mad are you?' in the Horizon series, a program that presents science and philosophy documentaries. Here's the excerpt of the show: Ten volunteers have come together for an extraordinary test. Five are 'normal' and the other five have been officially diagnosed as mentally ill. Horizon asks if you can tell who is who? Look around the Internet you might be able to find the series somewhere. At least the excerpt of it is on YouTube I think. Oh and look up Rosenhan, he did a study on the accuracy of Psychologists. Opened many peoples eyes about the topic.
I'm sorry, I know this post is about a month old, but I wanted to say something. Please do what your doctor says. A friend of mine committed suicide about 3 years ago around this time and she was in denial of her problem so she didn't listen to her doctor. Obviously you're aware of your condition, but please do what your doctor says
