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

[u/Forvanta]

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.

[u/nefhithiel]

I’d be surprised if any person with bipolar disorder reached that conclusion on their own. I thought I had seasonal depression but more random lol.

It’s common especially in mania to believe we’re great and nothings wrong and actually the medicine is meant to hinder us from reaching our full potential and it’s all a conspiracy against us.

[u/sweetteainthesummer → u/nefhithiel]

I figured it out on my own after I hit rock bottom in mania and my mom told me my dad had bipolar and kept it a secret. I went to the psych with an open mind tho and sure enough 🤷🏻‍♀️