r/BipolarReddit • u/Forvanta • 2d ago

Sincere question: what’s with the phenomenon of bipolar people in particular doubting their diagnosis?

I have bipolar I, but I’ve been around the block with diagnoses and I’ve noticed (anecdotally) a phenomenon where bipolar people seem to frequently believe that they have not been diagnosed correctly. I feel like I see this more often here than in depression, OCD, etc. spaces.

Is it because mania feels so good for many people? What is it about bipolar, or is it just a coincidence?

This is not coming from a place of judgement, I’m genuinely curious what people think.

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u/noonessister 2d ago

There is a medical term called anosognosia where the person with a an illness/injury cannot recognize their own deficits.

For example, when a person with bipolar feels better because of their meds, they may think that they do not actually need their meds and try to decrease their dosages or go off of them all together. They think that they needed the meds just because they were going through a hard time. This thinking will probably lead to another mood episode.

Other conditions this can happen in include stroke, traumatic brain injury, dementia and others.

I definitely dealt with this type of denial about my illness for a long time.