I met with a psychiatrist today who after going through some questioning with me said that she believes that I have bipolar depression 2. And listening to it be described it just sounded like life. Everyone has highs and lows. Everyone I know is grumpy on Monday and happy on Friday, that’s normal. So what makes bipolar 2 different?
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Bipolar disorder gets revised significantly in every version of the DSM, which is what psychiatrists use to diagnose mental disorders. Keep in mind that the definitions of these things fluctuate over time and will likely receive a significant update whenever the next version of the DSM comes out. The current version of the DSM (DSM-5) has a lot of issues, but so does the prior version (DSM-4).
The mania in Bipolar 1 isn’t just an elevated mood. Its an elevated mood that basically borders on a sort of very happy schizophrenia. IE, you’re so happy and have so much energy that you begin engaging in activities that you should be aware will have harmful consequences, but are so distracted by your abnormally high energy level that you essentially become become delusional (though you’re not hallucinating).
Bipolar 2 is intended to capture people who have episodes of severe depression that alternate with periods of a significantly elevated mood that is abnormal but doesn’t reach the level seen in Bipolar 1. This is not supposed to be the normal highs and lows of life. Its supposed to be:
“I’m so depressed that I cannot function for a minimum of one week at a time.”
Followed by:
“I am so euphoric that I cleaned my entire house, then cleaned it again because I just have so much energy and also I’m not sleeping nearly as much as I normally do.”
And:
“Despite that my energy level is not so high that I am engaging in activities that are reckless or harmful to me or others when doing such activities is atypical for me.”
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