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Psychiatry pro tip:
If you are suspicious but not certain your patient is manic, they almost certainly are not.
The bleeding of "mania" leads to significant overmedication and inappropriate prescriptions of substances that (though helpful for BD) have significant SEs"
If you are suspicious but not certain your patient is manic, they almost certainly are not.
The bleeding of "mania" leads to significant overmedication and inappropriate prescriptions of substances that (though helpful for BD) have significant SEs"
A manic episode is obvious and recognizable - it cannot be contained in any realistic interview window. It distorts thought process, speech process, behaviour, and ambition. It needs to be taken seriously, but overcalling it is a SIGNIFICANT problem.
If reading in a chart about a suspected historical manic episode, especially if reading a chart where mania/bipolarity was diagnosed from another health professional who did not witness the episode, be very suspicious and, in your head, look for alternate diagnoses.
Mania is not:
"i had a hard time sleeping for a few days"
"I feel happier than I used to,"
"I worry about my impulsivity..."
Mania is:
"I don't need sleep, haven't for days!"
"I've never felt better in my life!!!!"
"I'm selling everything to go to [place] and cure [disease.]"
"i had a hard time sleeping for a few days"
"I feel happier than I used to,"
"I worry about my impulsivity..."
Mania is:
"I don't need sleep, haven't for days!"
"I've never felt better in my life!!!!"
"I'm selling everything to go to [place] and cure [disease.]"
If you are suspicious of hypomania, be aware that hypomania is FREQUENTLY misdiagnosed as its symptoms are so nonspecific. Many many many non-bipolar causes of the symptoms of hypomania, from normal reactions to distress to anxiety to ADHD to insomnia, can cause these symptoms
If you are NOT a psychiatrist and you suspect bipolar disorder, please consult with a psychiatrist. If you ARE a psychiatrist and the above seems controversial to you, please re-acquaint yourself with inpatient psychiatry and be a better outpatient clinician.
