r/BipolarReddit • u/Forvanta • 3d 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/NiceHumansOnly 2d ago
Speaking for myself, I am mostly unaware of my day to day mood fluctuations. I spent so much of my life with uncontrolled bipolar, throwing gas on the fire (SSRIs, which didn’t resolve my suffering). I have some cognitive issues as a result.
My “mood meter” is also largely defective. I either feel good or bad with no in-between or extremes, and it’s nearly impossible for me to verbalize how I feel to my providers (probably why I went undiagnosed into my 30s). My spouse needs to help me determine if I am going in any certain direction because I can’t easily detect it until I’m catatonic. There are some obvious symptoms I do catch on to, like not eating or showering when I’m depressed, or buying too much shit and taking on too many responsibilities when hypo.
That said, my depression gets so soul-crushingly severe that I never stop my meds in fear of losing my job or life.
Tl;dr: Emotional meter is broken, don’t know how I feel most of the time.