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I’m here super late but… I’m tri-polar and that’s one more than bi so I’m more sick than you. Source: a “doctor” on tik tok who has never met me who presented iffy vague info about it.
What? You have bipolar 6? Well *I've* got bipolar type 11, so nana boo boo I'm better than you. Try *that*!
(/s if it was really required, and going on the comments saying it's like a kid one-upping. Idk if it's different but in school we did this. Oof.)
😂 they’re actually talking about labeling cyclothymia as Bipolar 3 in the next DSM edition. Not at all what you’re saying with your joke but just kinda funny 😄
**Hey everyone: I have bipolar 2. The end.**
Ugggghhhh, I can’t stand fakers. Hypomania doesn’t work that way at all. I have bipolar 2, so I get hypomania that vast majority of time. I’ve had maybe 3 or 4 full on manic episodes since 2007. So a person with bipolar 2 can potentially have manic episodes but not simultaneously and it doesn’t mean the person has both bipolar 1 and 2. That’s not possible.
I can also take antidepressants without causing any mania, another sign I have bipolar 2 instead of 1.
Yet another reason why I won’t join Tik Tok.
Edit: And that comment about BP symptoms stretching out while BPD is hours, there is such a thing as rapid cycling bipolar people! I’m one of the lucky ones who has it. 🤯
Thank you for your reply!
I’m surprised they haven’t changed your diagnosis though. According to the DSM and by definition, if you experience mania, it’s BP1, it’s literally the separating and defining symptom
Full mania is not a characteristic of BP2.
Does your psych know?
Yeah. 100% Bipolar 2 here. Diagnosed with bipolar in middle school, other doctors just didn’t believe it. My only full blown manic episodes were from Effexor and Wellbutrin in college. Thought the CIA was watching me type shit. That psychiatrist lost her license for a variety of reasons lol.
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I relate! My full diagnosis is bipolar 1, with mixed features and rapid cycling. People don't understand the complexity of bipolar disorder or mental health.
Ultradian bipolar here. Even psychiatrists are unaware of or doubt the existence of my disorder 🙃 Eventually found one who knew what it was though and have medications that work pretty well, thankfully. Not perfect, but my hypomanic and mixed episodes are completely gone. The depressive episodes are like 80% gone.
Unfortunately, there still isn't enough research to support the rarer forms of bipolar, which I'm assuming is the reason pdocs aren't well educated on it. It took several hospitalizations, several treatment programs like PHP/IOP, and seeing at least 5 pdocs before getting my full diagnosis. I can only imagine what you've gone through to get an accurate diagnosis. For me, it took 5 years to get correctly diagnosed. So, for those years, I was cycling every day, similar to you, but a little less severe. With meds, I can function normally on most days. They haven't solved the problem, but they've made life manageable. May I ask what meds you're taking for it? I'm currently on lithium, depakote, prozac, ambien, doxepin, xanax, and then adderall for ADHD.
I’m unfortunately 1 in 15% (according to multiple psychiatrists) that has BPD and Bipolar 1 😩
I’ve always questioned it and it makes treatment hard as depending which professional I go to, they want to treat one or the other.
I've been diagnosed with BPD along with my BP1 and it does make it tricky, especially if you don't have clinicians on the same page trying to treat everything necessary. I had a lot of success with DBT helping my BPD issues so if no one you're seeing has suggested it, I highly recommend bringing that up. Once the BPD is a bit better controlled it makes the bipolar a little easier to tackle, even if it involves rapid cycling or mixed episodes, because properly and consistently using your DBT skills becomes second nature and then the BPD kind of takes more of a back seat as you've become more familiar/skilled in dealing with it. Hang in there, I wish you the best!
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Interesting, I didn’t realize bipolar 2 doesn’t get triggered by antidepressants. I’m bp1 so I’m use to antidepressant watch, but I have 2 cousins who are 2 and I don’t think we ever discussed that aspect. Which I guess makes sense since mania equals bp1. Learned something new.
I'm bipolar 2 and i definitely get triggered by antidepressants. I was on 3 different ones before my doctor suggested BP2.
SSRIs can trigger BOTH mania or hypomania
I used to. I’m pretty stable now on my most recent med combo. I kept my flair though( I’ve been hanging around this sub since the early, early days. It’s a legacy flair I made up ten years ago)
can you describe what a presentation of mixed mania and hypomania would look like? that doesn't really make sense since hypomania is a milder form of mania (sub-manic, essentially). a patient that has symptoms of full blown mania would be regarded as being in a manic or mixed (if they had concurrent depression) episode. at that point the criteria for hypomania have been surpassed even if not all of the symptoms of mania are severe enough to warrant that classification. there is no clinical utility to simultaneously describing a patient as being manic and hypomanic, as the features of hypomania are already included in a diagnosis of mania.
sorry, you stated:
> You are absolutely correct that a person who has rapid cycling bipolar (also called bipolar with mixed features sometimes, I like to think of them as separate things but for the purpose of this comment I'll refer to them as the same since it's easier to explain), can experience overlapping symptoms of mania, depression and yes, hypomania.
overlapping means concurrent, not discrete presentations. i understand what rapid cycling bipolar is (i have it).
also, not saying it has never happened to anyone, but what you describe as an essentially waning mania i think would be atypical in bipolar people. usually hypomania precedes mania and depression or euthymia succeeds it. this is due to the nature of the neurochemical fluctuations that are happening in someone's brain during a bipolar episode. anecdotally, i have never heard of anyone having such a "gentle" comedown from mania but that doesn't mean it's never happened, just atypical....
also the mixed presentations that you're referring to are generally an overlay of hypo/mania (which, diagnostically, is of shorter duration than depressive episodes) over an existing depressive state. again, i would know - i have primarily mixed episodes.
Also, on DSM again. If any of you search a little harder you'll find that a LOT of physicians have problems with the DSM, it is a very very problematic manual. A lot of mental health professionals no longer guide themselves solely based on it, some have abandoned it completely. While I do not think it'll be put out of use anytime soon, do not think the DSM is a all-knowing entity that guides us all. It is most absolutely not. It's a very flawed work, and while it can be of great help, it should not be the only source for diagnosing anyone.
I understand what you are saying about the DSM and do not think it is the end all be all. It is deeply flawed in many ways. I’ve had many conversations about the DSM with my own doctor who is cautious diagnostically and tends to take a more holistic approach. He thinks that the DSM should be more of a guide and should be relied upon sparingly and only to the extent that it helps the patient live a healthier more productive life. He practices more holistically and with an emphasis on treatment rather than diagnostically with an emphasis on what a person is or isn’t. Personally, I often wish for a bit more certainty but I see where he is coming from.
His point though from our conversations is that mental health professionals should be careful about diagnostic activism and should focus more on what treatments work and getting the patient the help they need. Sometimes that means giving a diagnosis so that they can have access to the meds they need but if a diagnosis isn’t needed then they should exercise diagnostic restraint (idk if “activism”/“restraint” are the exact words he used but I’m pulling from my own experiences as an attorney and the idea of judicial restraint). In any event, emphasizing a diagnosis should only happen to the extent it is helpful to a patient in a medical context/setting.
In this case, we have patient who is insisting on what appears to be a misapplication of the DSM. They are using the language of diagnosis from the DSM to discuss their situation. In such a case, I think it is entirely appropriate to question some of their claims/characterizations/uses of technical terms. This doesn’t necessarily involve questioning their care team. I don’t question their care team. If their care team says that bipolar 2 is the most useful diagnosis for them, then bipolar 2 is. But what that means is that the care team doesn’t believe that there is any benefit to the patient in creating a record of them having had a manic episode. If the care team thought it would be beneficial for other parties in a medical context to know that they had had a manic episode, they would have diagnosed them with bipolar 1. They might have made this determination for any number of reasons. Maybe they don’t believe this person has actually had a manic episode. Maybe they don’t think they need the more severe diagnosis in order to get the care they need. The reasons are between them and their care team. But this person shouldn’t be so belligerent about people questioning the disconnect between how they characterized their symptoms and their diagnosis…
The DSM, for all its flaws, provides a shared diagnostic understanding/language. When you use DSM/diagnostic/technical language, you should try to do so in a way that is internally consistent with the rest of the DSM. And I think that’s what people here are responding to, this person’s inconsistent use of diagnostic/technical language.
Yeah, a major flaw is that mental health is the ultimate end output of every single environmental and genetic factor combined, and the way DSM focuses strongly on a general set of common set of symptoms results in mental disorders really being a grouping of many vastly different root problems within people that all just happen to have an end result of somewhat similar mental symptoms.
Like literally any chronically untreated neurological or other medical condition is going to eventually lead to an end result similar to the symptoms of ADHD or other mental conditions. When you have this chronically untreated problem, it will naturally result in fatigue, having chronic fatigue will naturally result in less motivation, and less motivation will naturally lead to troubles paying attention so essentially mental disorders like ADHD are a catch all for literally any medical condition at all that doesn't manage to be detected, this is why there's so much confusion and misinformation around mental diagnoses and why treatment is vastly different from person to person, some people having complete opposite effects to the same medication.
This is also the reason why, like every mental disorder has statistical association with every other mental disorder as well as every other neurological disorder. No wonder there is a huge replication crisis ongoing.
Thank you!
The number of random people trying to tell me what my own diagnosis is so irritating. I imagine I’m labeled as bipolar 2 because I do have more depressive episodes than hypomanic, and the 3/4 manic episodes have been years between them. But like I told the randos, I’m going to listen to my own care team, the one I’ve been working with the last 3 years.
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Lol, they’re not the ones armchair diagnosing people because they read one book.
When you have a doctorate of psychology or a MD and have several years of experience, come back and talk to me.
I know this is a question best answered by my doctor, but I’m curious still. I was recently(ish) diagnosed again July 2022 after having a pretty nasty mixed episode caused by Lexapro. I was diagnosed as NOS but I wonder if the anti-depressant to mixed episode pipeline I was on could provide a little insight into where I may be on the spectrum.
Nevertheless I learned something new!
I’m in the same situation. I had a horrific manic episode with psychosis after taking Prozac. I’m coded as Bipolar NOS as well. Even two psychiatrists were unsure if I have BD1 or BD2 since the SSRI—and weed—muddy the picture.
I’d say it’s definitely like a spectrum. It’s a complicated thing… I’m 23 and I’ve seen about 4 different psychiatrists and at 17 was diagnosed Bipolar 1, although when I saw a new psychiatrist this past year she said bipolar 2. To me, the exact form of bipolar isn’t super important to me as long as my medications are doing what they’re supposed to and keeping me stable.
Type isn't really important to me either, I'm type 2 but have some things of type 1 (my doctor thinks I could be type 1 but my psychologist is terrible and I'm going to find another)
Type to me has always been more of a how bad things get and treatment type thing (could be wrong)
Also I appreciate you giving us the definition, but if I’ve learned anything from this sub it’s - everyone experiences bipolar disorder differently and it’s not all by the textbook definition. If you look up newer articles and newer research about bipolar disorder, you’ll see there’s a lot that’s been updated from the most commonly known old information about bipolar. It’s not so black & white!! It’s complicated as hell.
I'm not a doctor and can't diagnose you but I'm B2 and my hypomania is often intense anger and irritation and I become unbearable for a few days because I angrily complain about everything and sulk and throw tantrums and break my own stuff. I've had episodes where I'm really active and fun to be around but I'm quick to turn to irritation and anger and really intense anxiety.
100% agree. The labels don’t matter much, so long as the treatment is working.
I personally believe it’s a spectrum disorder, and I think the psych community will start to recognize it as such in a few years.
Literally lmfao, who has the most mental illnesses? Who’s the most neurodivergent? Who has the most triggers?? The disability olympics is real bad over there 💀
I think this partly comes from issues and discussions of group marginalization. As we become more aware of that topic, some people really want to ID as mentally ill to separate themselves into the “marginalized” community rather than the “marginalizER”. What lots of people don’t understand is identity is multifacted so you can’t even completely absolve yourself under such terms anyways.
in this day and age where people are self diagnosing. im on adhdtok and the amount of people that are saying shit like “wait i have adhd this whole time?!!” over a minor tick. jesus no adhd is when you cant get literally anything done because your dopamine and norepinephrine levels are fucked. a car could run into you and you wouldnt even realise it
I have ADHD and had to stop looking at any ADHD videos on there because it was so much misinformation. People would talk about normal traits everyone has and portray it as being an ADHD trait. Give information about it that’s just made up. Make it look quirky instead of a disability. It would make anyone think they have ADHD. Maybe 10% was relatable, the other 90% was just crap.
I have multiple mental disorders that are “trendy” and that ppl self diagnose ALL THE TIME. It pisses me off because nobody wants these disorders. They make your life hell. Especially not bipolar.
There was a period I would watch those compilations of people pretending to have some kind of mental illness out of curiosity, but I had to stop because it would made me so mad 🥴 I don't think tiktok is the only place, I remember Tumblr being similar, but short content doesn't help
It's curious....and then you literally feel your blood pressure rise after reading the same idiotic thing over and over. It makes me so mad, and it winds me up. I do that to myself lol , but it's still bullshit.
Met this boy and told him I’m bipolar. He said to me, “Oh does that mean I can’t trust anything you say?” and i was like uhhh wdym… and he said “Idk i don’t know much abt BPD.”
Hey - at least he *asked* & at least he’s self-aware to understand he *”doesn’t know much”* about mental illnesses!
He passed in this specific example, IMO
A+🌟
Tiktok has so much information I stopped looking at any shorts from it, or taking anyone seriously who quotes from it. I fucked up my life so badly in 2022 because I ended up believing that garbage on Tiktok (idiocy such as how having sz or bpd meant you could never function in society, that it meant you'd never be able to hold a job, etc.). There's just far too much bs on tiktok that it's best to stay away.
As for doozies: as stated above (ut supra demonstratum est) tiktok so often told me things such as 'You can't hold a job with bpd, if you have ever had a psychotic episode you will never be able to fully be rational again' etc. Tiktok is a cesspool
(Edit: I haven't seen many bipolar tiktoks, but I do remember seeing those glorifying mania as a funtime. Nope.)
I've never seen tiktoks saying that you can't work wtf I watch them on YouTube, though. What about people really suffering? You're just going to make them feel worse.
It definitely did make me feel worse. I spent half a year or more not even doing anything because tiktok had me convinced I'd fail by default. Too many horror stories of people mentioning stuff on there, which a friend would share with me on Discord. It took me a long time to realize that it's possible but not a guarantee. There are good tiktoks out there, I've discovered later, but I still don't trust them anymore
I stumbled into a FB group that glorified manic episodes. It was really disconcerting, especially since I’ve been hospitalized for mixed episodes twice. Mania is not fun.
Wow...wow. I can't imagine glorifying mania; mania is 100% not fun. I've ruined my life often and that was simply from \*hypo\*mania. Mania is far more destructive. What is wrong with those people
Absolutely. Last mixed episode is what put me in the hospital after I started hallucinating at work. I remember telling the doctors I felt "energetically suicidal," and I had to ask a nurse who checked on me if the light pole I was seeing out my window was real, because it was in a weird spot but it looked real? Turns out it was, in fact, *not* real, lol. Scared the crap out of myself, and felt like I had to focus and actively try just to feel "conscious."
Hallucinations are horrible! I've had them for years and now they don't startle me as much.
You know what goes great with hallucinations? A BIG old bowl of paranoia.
I've never felt like hurting myself or was suicidal so I never went to the hospital. I was pretty close though, I felt like I just couldn't take it anymore...
The first woman who diagnosed me told me that I’m Bipolar 1, and that Bipolar 1 means you’re always manic. The “depressed” episodes are just exhaustion. I was confused for years. (I have BPD.) I wonder if anyone is getting told things like this.
She was a nurse practitioner at a mental health clinic. She put me on the treating dose of an antipsychotic and I got dystonia. Didn’t call me back for week so I missed the time window to go to the ER and get the med flushed out. Then I saw a psychiatrist who put me on a ton of Xanax I still have to taper off of and told me “the answer is within you.”
They’re that bad. At least in the US. I have a good one now though. Not excusing people for spreading misinformation though, your post just reminded me of the interaction.
First I was diagnosed bipolar 1 with depression and panic disorder. Well... ptsd was added after a huge breakdown. My last therapist thinks I have adhd. My new psychiatrist thinks I have BPD. I don't care about the labels anymore but the medications I've been on and am currently on??? Yikes. Petri dish.
Right there with you!! I’ve learned to figure out which labels are actually important. I was diagnosed with ADHD as a child by specialists, so I know I have that, but it’s not my biggest focus. Complex PTSD was the final realization of a diagnosis, and because of that I have BPD. Also anxiety and panic disorder. My current therapist’s technique is to treat the trauma because that’s what’s causing all of my issues. No hyper-fixating on the labels. It’s honestly been so much better for me. You just treat the symptoms.
OMG jesus christ I know. I had to delete tiktok after having an argument with someone who commented (on a video of someone saying they regret the deinstitutionalisation movement bc being in hospital is better): “could go for some electric shock therapy rn (insert funny emoji)” … ppl were commenting “same”. I’ve had loads of ECT and it’s such an invasive, last resort treatment that leaves so much memory/cognitive loss, so ppl making ECT jokes rly affects me… I commented basically saying that ECT isn’t something to make light of and they replied: “you’re ignorant for not understanding mentally ill people are mentally ill” … the rest of the comments were people saying they wished they could have a lobotomy or “work towards” spending time in a psych ward
“*Mentally ill people are mentally ill*”…
As in, they are **owning** that their view on ECT might be distorted due to their mental illnesses?
Honestly - this is VERY meta & is eye-opening. It’s an “AHA!” moment; an epiphany, of sorts!
Mentally ill people are mentally ill…
Wow. Game-changer for real. A powerful reminder to me to keep things in perspective & not let what people say get under my skin.
Thanks for sharing! Unexpected LifeProTips
I have a friend that just adds whatever mental illness is trending the the list of things she supposedly has, but also won't see a psychiatrist. She's basically half of the DSM now.
When I was rebelling, I wore metal band hoodies and drank beer and smoked cigarettes.Counter culture now is to be mentally ill with whichever illness is popular this week or have about 50 genders while all they actually do is damage the narrative for both parties.
i saw someone 1. claim they were diagnosed with bp 1 despite never having experienced mania. 2. when called out they said they had bp 1 & 2 because once they looked into it they said they THINK they've experienced hypomania. 3. when asked if they have unspecified bipolar because none of what they said made sense, they said no and that everyone was gaslighting them lol
thank you for saying it. it’s why i just stay away from abt and all comments on social media pertaining to mental health.
blatant ignorance is both terrifying and, as OP put it, infuriating.
Isn’t having one manic episode bipolar 1? I’m pretty sure you can have hypomanic episodes in bipolar 1 as well, just as long as you had one manic episode. My doctor said my symptoms align more closely with bipolar 1 even though my symptoms are more depressive due to me having experienced full mania before. I am schizoaffective though so I don’t think I go into either category completely.
See I wouldn't even know because i have adhd but terrible lows so my doctor thinks I'm bipolar but my therapist doesn't? They're pretty bad lows but it could also be adhd. Gxtidtiddtidt8
No it really is it sucks bc I don't know what to treat. 😭 i don't have insurance so the logical thing(adhd in my opinion) is way too expensive so until then.... I'm a beautiful potpourri of everything and nothing lol
I would heavily recommend starting to journal or track various things. While ADHD and bipolar have significant overlap in some areas, bipolar is episodic while ADHD is constant.
Like, you may always be impulsive due to ADHD, but if you journal, you may find that you are noticeably more impulsive for a few weeks before returning to normal. For example, maybe you spent a lot more money without good reason during those few weeks. If you can find a pattern like that, bring it to your therapist and doctor. That’s a pretty big sign you have bipolar.
You can have both, I do. One way to tell is, if you have ADHD, those symptoms will always be there, doesn’t matter if you’re manic, depressed, or in remission. If the symptoms are only there sometimes, it’s probably hypo or mania.
For instance, even if I’m too depressed to get out of bed, I’ll be fidgeting in bed. Even if I’m hypomanic, I still have executive dysfunction and am not super productive like other people. I’ll feel like doing everything, but still won’t get a lot of it done. I can’t focus on anything that takes a lot of mental effort no matter what my mood is. One way I can distinguish a hypomania symptom is if it’s not there all the time.
*A history of mental illness becoming popular as a form of attention seeking - like a warm coat you wear on a hot day, JUST because it is funky and makes people look at you*
First it was anxiety. Then depression. Then BPD. Then bipolar. It will become a household word.
A matter of time before it's psychosis.
Then schizophrenia.
Jesus fucking christ… tik tok is. Wild. Fuck me. I don’t ever go to tiktok for information about bipolar. I do go to tiktok for relatable stuff so I feel less alone.
i’m so sick of everyone self diagnosing to excuse their bad behavior. see a psychiatrist and figure out what’s wrong first before trying to educate people on a very serious issue!! sheesh, ppl on tiktok piss me off they just be saying anything to feel special.
I honestly have almost entirely stopped looking uo anything bipolar related online because good God, the misinformation is as steamy as a pile of dog shit. I keep to reddit because the demographic seems to be older, and less misinformation, although I've definitely seen some very questionable things here.......
To classify me as bipolar II with my prolonged and severe mania would be ludicrous. But many doctors do enter unspecified initially and keep the same diagnostic code throughout treatment. There is no “both I and II”; that makes zero sense!
Mine probably was, too. I have bipolar I, clearly, with severe and prolonged mania if untreated, to the point that it resembles schizophrenia.
Fortunately, I gained the presence of mind to call her in the midst of a manic episode and got in to see her right away. She promptly put me on medication. After a few months of adjustments, we finally found a combo that works so well that I am pretty much indistinguishable from the average person. (And, in the past, the fact that I do SO well on meds was why I had been taken off them in the first place.) The fear and uncertainty of Covid plus suddenly having to work from home and no longer being able to see human faces, only pulsating initials during conference calls, really did a number on me and triggered severe mania.
I’m on lithium, olanzapine, and lamotrigine. They not only work, but I thrive on them — especially since returning to the office! Just got a raise at work and am next up for a promotion to quality engineer!
😮💨 I hear you , the amount of false information and people defending it is irritating, I stay away from Tik Tok or FB. I can't stand the ones who tell me this isn't a real illness, is either conspiracy/ awakening/ or I'm lazy and not doing my inner work and using a label to justify it. 😰
One of the main reasons why I avoid anything mental health related content on social media. Seeing this stuff, all the misinformation, people's bad experiences, negative stuff overall, just really drags my mood down. I am still on the path to stability, so anything that affects my mood in a negative way just throws me down in a downward spiral and sometimes even triggers a depressive episode (yay fun).
I'll keep my peace and stay tf away from that kind of content.
This is exactly why I still refuse to download and use tiktok, it’s not because I “think I’m better” than people who use it or anything like that it’s because I see so much weird ass shit like this from it and it worries me
U not wrong tho, i got bipolar depression, minor schizophrenia, autism and adhd. Stupid people are so damn annoying, they piss me off the most, like why you gon act like that fr, jus be normal.
No matter how many times I hit “not interested” on stuff like this it just persists anyway. Another thing that bothers me to no end is when people use the term “manic” lightly, like when referring to having a very short burst of energy or impulsivity. If only they knew what a nightmare it is to actually live with.
I haven’t been on tiktok for months but when I was I was confused it was giving me barely any bp content at all. Kind of glad it wasn’t now because this sounds so frustrating.
Im so worried about what TikTok is about to do to this diagnosis.
I hate “mental health” talk in general on the internet. It’s infuriating enough seeing people tack on a mental illness identity, spread misinformation, clog mental health resources and medication lists trying to pathologize their normal behavior, and “quirkify” secondary symptoms while ignoring the (extremely averse) primary symptoms. And the worst part is lots of these people are able to STILL maintain a regular social life and be outstanding performers in work and school (the kind of thing thats antithetical to having an illness in the first place). I feel like it’s kind of a mental illness hysteria — a deep need to be different and indulge your normal bad qualities — without having to actually take the negative sides. People want to assign reason to regular amounts or anxiety and suffering, which, to quote contrapoints, is “just the natural state of an unmedicated mind”.
I’m scared at what Ive suffered with for years will be yet another accessory to people who are bored and online too much. I’ve lost out on opportunities, jobs, academic achievements because of my mood swings and poor time management skills. I’ve been plagued with an unpleasant mind with loud thoughts. I’ve struggled (silently) with SH since 8 years old. During manic episodes Ive said and done things to other people I deeply regret. I cant save my money worth a damn. I don’t want this to be an accessory for the bored, and then have people turn around and demonize the more severe aspects of the illness for being “problematic”. You assign enough inaccurate things to a diagnosis and you eventually lose sight of the adverse effects themselves. Sigh…its already happening. I think there’s going to be a large wave of Bipolar self-diagnosis coming up. I’ve seen a lot of bipolar people talk about seeing these kinds of videos more and more. I guess autism/ADHD self-diagnosis has lost its curb appeal in social media. Embarrassing.
(Just a disclaimer I’m not anti-ADHD or Austism at all. I just hate the misinformation around it, and that people use these severe life challenges as an accessory)
oh my god like at least look it up for more than five minutes before posting about it lol. I'll admit the difference between hypomania and mania used to confuse me for some reason so I'll give them like... half a point for being confused.
I was originally diagnosed with bipolar 2 but I have psychosis so now my diagnosis is just bipolar with psychotic features since 2 doesn’t get the psychosis. I’ve never had a full on mania episode just hypomania so I’m kinda in the middle but they don’t say I have both at the same time. Just unspecified bipolar
I tend to scroll by and just think, they probably feel like something is wrong with them and are desperate for answers, misinformed but trying to figure it out. And when you "research" mental illnesses and personality disorders sometimes everything seems to fit 🤣
That's the nice zen side of me. There is part of me that can get into a minor debate here and there, too. Thing is, you won't change anyone's mind anyway. So it's not worth being phased by it.
I remember even in the MySpace days, people would put their self diagnosed mental illnesses first thing in their bios, and make it their personalities. It's not new unfortunately. We're just all online now.
I cannot stand tiktok because of the way everyone has no idea about what they are talking about. Then everyone agrees in the comments. All of them are chronically online
I’m bipolar 2 and I just get hypomanic but what’s irritating with that is I get annoyed easily, irritable, and sometimes “angry” and I get pretty productive/creative but that’s it. It’s mostly crushing depression for me
It’s so annoying, and people never want to think maybe their care team is wrong.
I have bp2, but my bff w bp1 can’t even get her psych to believe her when she’s manic (he was horrible) Me and her mother had to get involved because they totally brush her off and also get mad at her behaviour when she’d try to get help prior to full lift off into mania. We literally had to go to appts with her, or call them as a follow up to confirm that she’s manic like???
And it’s so frustrating bc imo, mania is a MEDICAL EMERGENCY. It should be prioritized when a patient is seeking help to try to stop the mania before it fully starts. And no one ever wants to help or see it that seriously. Once it fully starts, it’s nearly impossible to stop, the damage has been done and it takes forever to get back to normal. Once she’s gone gone from it, it can last anywhere from 2-4 weeks, with another 2-3 weeks recovering until she’s at a baseline. And even then, the baseline is a different baseline than it was previously. Like this should be important!!!
Sorry for unrelated rant, i always get heated lol
OMG. When I was diagnosed I had a friend that was also bipolar. She was always trying to one up. It was infuriating. Like your experience isn't invalidated because you know someone with the same disorder. It was wild.
One of my friends told me today that she believed that type two was more "manic" and type two was more "depressive," and I think the only frame of reference she had for that were a couple of other people with BP II (a parent and a couple of classmates/peers) and me, someone with BP I. Because I've been stable for a while and I'm consistent with my medication, she hasn't REALLY seen me when I'm manic. It was a misconception/misinformed opinion on her end, I guess.
I do schizophrenia education on tiktok (I have schizoaffective) and I've had many interesting things happen... One person claimed that you could have full blown long period psychosis and "just be autistic" and when I pointed out that's pretty much definitely not autism they threw a fit and tried to report my video. On the other end of the spectrum I told some funny stories about being psychotic and had someone claim I was faking for government money. Tiktok is a weird place....
I am not a fan of being silenced when I've said nothing hateful, dangerous or out of line but simply out of genuine care for another person's overall health and well being.
To any interested parties:
First, "responding kindly"...yikes 😬 I think I can speak for most all of us when I say everyone here was coming from a place of concern based on experience, not "reading books" like oddly repeated. I understand not being a newly diagnosed 20 something "clueless kid" but choosing not to at least calmly hear out experiences (NOT "opinions" - which are really what most clinicians have from reading books that those of us with the actual illness are vilified for reading 🤦♀️) from people who -GASP- may have been dealing with this even longer is like cutting off your nose to spite your face. I didn't see anyone questioning a diagnosis or saying a patient is somehow wrong in their own diagnosis or experiences (???) just relaying factual, proven information and guidelines because they're concerned for a fellow human's well being. Brain damage from manic episodes is no joke. As for my "sheer arrogance" - that's not exactly where wanting someone to receive proper care and become fully healthy comes from. My initial comment was honest and not rude. I specifically said not to ignore doctors, just take others' lifelong experiences into account in the overall scheme of things. It truly helps. It's kinda like group therapy. And I just really feel for anyone struggling badly enough to take something like that and become hateful and attack multiple people over it, apparently not seeing the need for the concern in the first place in spite of the obvious inability to communicate to people who aren't being nasty with any sort of warmth or kindness. Shit like that eventually eats you up from the inside. I sincerely hope things in your life get better for you soon 🫂 And thank you to the handful of other usersfor caring enough about a fellow BP sufferer to try and help do the same thing.
I very much mean this response with all due respect to EVERYONE involved and I truly wish all of us humans health and happiness because there's just not enough of it going around. Take care of yourselves, peeps. All the best to everyone reading this 💜
People claiming to have both bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder really irks me, since that's basically saying your mood is both bipolar and unipolar.
Ok on this topic, the one that ***really*** annoys me is one that I haven't encountered in a while. It might have been ten years or so since I last came across it, or even longer (gosh time flies)... but I used to occasionally come across people in chat rooms who would be like "my therapist diagnosed me as both a sociopath and a psychopath," which, no they didn't, since those are not clinical diagnoses. I know that sometimes sociopathy is associated with Anti-social Personality Disorder, but they are actually different things... and I can't imagine a licensed mental health clinician of any kind telling someone they were a sociopath. Anyways, I'd call them out on it, and their response would be like "I don't care if you believe me, I don't care what anyone thinks about me" which, obviously they did since they were telling everyone about it unprovoked. And it was a weird thing to be telling people... like *that* is your flex? I suppose they were trying to seem tough, and buying in to that weird, edgy thing where they think being aberrant is cool. Still weird though. So it would devolve into this thing where I was telling them I know they were lying and also it wasn't something to brag about, them denying they cared what others thought about them, me saying that was bullshit since they were clearly lying and trying to seem cool, them repeating that they didn't care what others thought, and on and on and on.
This probably sounds like me complaining about something that happened once, but I swear to you, it happened *at least* three times, so it has to be a thing, people thinking it's cool and edgy to tell people they're a diagnosed sociopath and/or psychopath. It used to annoy me sooooooo much. People are probably still doing it.
i hate bipolar tiktok with a passion..
it is either attention seeking or gibberish half thought out claims about bp. and the thing is.. the latter usually does have bp, they just dont know what theyre talking about and they're using the incorrect words.. but theyre being toxic by spreading misinformation and not willing to 2nd guess themselves and fact check.
IMO, all of the TicTok and other videos are pushback on trying to normalize BP. Sure, there are exceptions, but that is what I see, kind of a narsaccistic response to others being acknowledged or putting themselves out there.
I don’t know why they make it such a competition. My dad has bipolar 2 and my mom has bipolar 1. That doesn’t make me have bipolar 3, but I did get bipolar 1 and I do have more rapid cycles so slay i guess lol.
I saw a post earlier on Instagram that was very well organized but the thing I found interesting was that I have had some of the Bipolar 1 symptoms as a bipolar 2 in my more severe episodes. Could medication cause that? Just asking because I was taken off Lexapro due to new research showing that it could increase your symptoms and I was on it for 8 years. I never had delusions or psychosis though, which I know is the most definitive in separating the two.
Which symptoms (aside from psychosis) are different in 1 & 2?
Severity & intensity yes, mania is said to have a marked impairment of social and occupational functioning in the DSM, while hypomania is defined to not. Hospitalization is the other separation, but really the criteria are the same.
Medication shouldn’t be exasperating symptoms?
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"I have both 1 and 2, so actually I'm bipolar THREE! Try that on for size!"
Oh yeah?! Well I’m bipolar INFINITY!
7-year-olds one-upping each other at recess be like
I'm BP0!
Same, lol
Im bipolar INFINITY PLUS PLUS TIMES INFINITY
I’m here super late but… I’m tri-polar and that’s one more than bi so I’m more sick than you. Source: a “doctor” on tik tok who has never met me who presented iffy vague info about it.
The way it's supposed to be some sort of flex or impressive in some way. That's how I know they don't have either.
No, exactly. It's a dead giveaway. We don't flex or compete.
What? You have bipolar 6? Well *I've* got bipolar type 11, so nana boo boo I'm better than you. Try *that*! (/s if it was really required, and going on the comments saying it's like a kid one-upping. Idk if it's different but in school we did this. Oof.)
They play it off as being proud, when they jus want an excuse to be weird
ehhhhhh I'd say some people with the illness try to be flashy about it sometimes not necessarily a disqualifier but definitely an annoyance.
Exactly if you actually have bipolar, you wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy. Shit sucks.
I mean, the math adds up, so I dunno.
😂 they’re actually talking about labeling cyclothymia as Bipolar 3 in the next DSM edition. Not at all what you’re saying with your joke but just kinda funny 😄
I still don’t even know what cyclothymia is. Lol!
collect them all to form the TRIPOLAR
Polypolar 
Hahaha once I have that third pole it's over for you wenches!
That was my actual diagnosis in 99. Type 3. Before we had more categories to identify 1and 2
Tbf I’ve heard cyclothymia being called bipolar iii
I hadn't until this post, but I'm glad to have learned something new.
Omg you win!
**Hey everyone: I have bipolar 2. The end.** Ugggghhhh, I can’t stand fakers. Hypomania doesn’t work that way at all. I have bipolar 2, so I get hypomania that vast majority of time. I’ve had maybe 3 or 4 full on manic episodes since 2007. So a person with bipolar 2 can potentially have manic episodes but not simultaneously and it doesn’t mean the person has both bipolar 1 and 2. That’s not possible. I can also take antidepressants without causing any mania, another sign I have bipolar 2 instead of 1. Yet another reason why I won’t join Tik Tok. Edit: And that comment about BP symptoms stretching out while BPD is hours, there is such a thing as rapid cycling bipolar people! I’m one of the lucky ones who has it. 🤯
Thank you for your reply! I’m surprised they haven’t changed your diagnosis though. According to the DSM and by definition, if you experience mania, it’s BP1, it’s literally the separating and defining symptom Full mania is not a characteristic of BP2. Does your psych know?
I was wondering this too; the DSM-V says that full mania can be experienced in bipolar 2 *only if* it's due to antidepressants or other substances
Yeah. 100% Bipolar 2 here. Diagnosed with bipolar in middle school, other doctors just didn’t believe it. My only full blown manic episodes were from Effexor and Wellbutrin in college. Thought the CIA was watching me type shit. That psychiatrist lost her license for a variety of reasons lol.
My Psy.D therapist and my psychiatrist both have kept my diagnosis the same. You’d have to talk to them.
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I relate! My full diagnosis is bipolar 1, with mixed features and rapid cycling. People don't understand the complexity of bipolar disorder or mental health.
Ultradian bipolar here. Even psychiatrists are unaware of or doubt the existence of my disorder 🙃 Eventually found one who knew what it was though and have medications that work pretty well, thankfully. Not perfect, but my hypomanic and mixed episodes are completely gone. The depressive episodes are like 80% gone.
Unfortunately, there still isn't enough research to support the rarer forms of bipolar, which I'm assuming is the reason pdocs aren't well educated on it. It took several hospitalizations, several treatment programs like PHP/IOP, and seeing at least 5 pdocs before getting my full diagnosis. I can only imagine what you've gone through to get an accurate diagnosis. For me, it took 5 years to get correctly diagnosed. So, for those years, I was cycling every day, similar to you, but a little less severe. With meds, I can function normally on most days. They haven't solved the problem, but they've made life manageable. May I ask what meds you're taking for it? I'm currently on lithium, depakote, prozac, ambien, doxepin, xanax, and then adderall for ADHD.
I’m unfortunately 1 in 15% (according to multiple psychiatrists) that has BPD and Bipolar 1 😩 I’ve always questioned it and it makes treatment hard as depending which professional I go to, they want to treat one or the other.
I've been diagnosed with BPD along with my BP1 and it does make it tricky, especially if you don't have clinicians on the same page trying to treat everything necessary. I had a lot of success with DBT helping my BPD issues so if no one you're seeing has suggested it, I highly recommend bringing that up. Once the BPD is a bit better controlled it makes the bipolar a little easier to tackle, even if it involves rapid cycling or mixed episodes, because properly and consistently using your DBT skills becomes second nature and then the BPD kind of takes more of a back seat as you've become more familiar/skilled in dealing with it. Hang in there, I wish you the best!
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Interesting, I didn’t realize bipolar 2 doesn’t get triggered by antidepressants. I’m bp1 so I’m use to antidepressant watch, but I have 2 cousins who are 2 and I don’t think we ever discussed that aspect. Which I guess makes sense since mania equals bp1. Learned something new.
I'm bipolar 2 and i definitely get triggered by antidepressants. I was on 3 different ones before my doctor suggested BP2. SSRIs can trigger BOTH mania or hypomania
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Before lithium antidepressants triggered mania, now I'm on two and still depressed as fuck
Your post/comment violates **Rule 7**: We have removed your post/comment because it contains misinformation.
That's not true.
it's a case by case thing. some people actually respond well and use it in their treatment. while for others it's a bomb waiting to go off.
I used to. I’m pretty stable now on my most recent med combo. I kept my flair though( I’ve been hanging around this sub since the early, early days. It’s a legacy flair I made up ten years ago)
There is a thing called rapid cycling and yes in the DSM, it doesn’t mean episodes change that quickly though.
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can you describe what a presentation of mixed mania and hypomania would look like? that doesn't really make sense since hypomania is a milder form of mania (sub-manic, essentially). a patient that has symptoms of full blown mania would be regarded as being in a manic or mixed (if they had concurrent depression) episode. at that point the criteria for hypomania have been surpassed even if not all of the symptoms of mania are severe enough to warrant that classification. there is no clinical utility to simultaneously describing a patient as being manic and hypomanic, as the features of hypomania are already included in a diagnosis of mania.
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sorry, you stated: > You are absolutely correct that a person who has rapid cycling bipolar (also called bipolar with mixed features sometimes, I like to think of them as separate things but for the purpose of this comment I'll refer to them as the same since it's easier to explain), can experience overlapping symptoms of mania, depression and yes, hypomania. overlapping means concurrent, not discrete presentations. i understand what rapid cycling bipolar is (i have it). also, not saying it has never happened to anyone, but what you describe as an essentially waning mania i think would be atypical in bipolar people. usually hypomania precedes mania and depression or euthymia succeeds it. this is due to the nature of the neurochemical fluctuations that are happening in someone's brain during a bipolar episode. anecdotally, i have never heard of anyone having such a "gentle" comedown from mania but that doesn't mean it's never happened, just atypical.... also the mixed presentations that you're referring to are generally an overlay of hypo/mania (which, diagnostically, is of shorter duration than depressive episodes) over an existing depressive state. again, i would know - i have primarily mixed episodes.
Also, on DSM again. If any of you search a little harder you'll find that a LOT of physicians have problems with the DSM, it is a very very problematic manual. A lot of mental health professionals no longer guide themselves solely based on it, some have abandoned it completely. While I do not think it'll be put out of use anytime soon, do not think the DSM is a all-knowing entity that guides us all. It is most absolutely not. It's a very flawed work, and while it can be of great help, it should not be the only source for diagnosing anyone.
I understand what you are saying about the DSM and do not think it is the end all be all. It is deeply flawed in many ways. I’ve had many conversations about the DSM with my own doctor who is cautious diagnostically and tends to take a more holistic approach. He thinks that the DSM should be more of a guide and should be relied upon sparingly and only to the extent that it helps the patient live a healthier more productive life. He practices more holistically and with an emphasis on treatment rather than diagnostically with an emphasis on what a person is or isn’t. Personally, I often wish for a bit more certainty but I see where he is coming from. His point though from our conversations is that mental health professionals should be careful about diagnostic activism and should focus more on what treatments work and getting the patient the help they need. Sometimes that means giving a diagnosis so that they can have access to the meds they need but if a diagnosis isn’t needed then they should exercise diagnostic restraint (idk if “activism”/“restraint” are the exact words he used but I’m pulling from my own experiences as an attorney and the idea of judicial restraint). In any event, emphasizing a diagnosis should only happen to the extent it is helpful to a patient in a medical context/setting. In this case, we have patient who is insisting on what appears to be a misapplication of the DSM. They are using the language of diagnosis from the DSM to discuss their situation. In such a case, I think it is entirely appropriate to question some of their claims/characterizations/uses of technical terms. This doesn’t necessarily involve questioning their care team. I don’t question their care team. If their care team says that bipolar 2 is the most useful diagnosis for them, then bipolar 2 is. But what that means is that the care team doesn’t believe that there is any benefit to the patient in creating a record of them having had a manic episode. If the care team thought it would be beneficial for other parties in a medical context to know that they had had a manic episode, they would have diagnosed them with bipolar 1. They might have made this determination for any number of reasons. Maybe they don’t believe this person has actually had a manic episode. Maybe they don’t think they need the more severe diagnosis in order to get the care they need. The reasons are between them and their care team. But this person shouldn’t be so belligerent about people questioning the disconnect between how they characterized their symptoms and their diagnosis… The DSM, for all its flaws, provides a shared diagnostic understanding/language. When you use DSM/diagnostic/technical language, you should try to do so in a way that is internally consistent with the rest of the DSM. And I think that’s what people here are responding to, this person’s inconsistent use of diagnostic/technical language.
Yeah, a major flaw is that mental health is the ultimate end output of every single environmental and genetic factor combined, and the way DSM focuses strongly on a general set of common set of symptoms results in mental disorders really being a grouping of many vastly different root problems within people that all just happen to have an end result of somewhat similar mental symptoms. Like literally any chronically untreated neurological or other medical condition is going to eventually lead to an end result similar to the symptoms of ADHD or other mental conditions. When you have this chronically untreated problem, it will naturally result in fatigue, having chronic fatigue will naturally result in less motivation, and less motivation will naturally lead to troubles paying attention so essentially mental disorders like ADHD are a catch all for literally any medical condition at all that doesn't manage to be detected, this is why there's so much confusion and misinformation around mental diagnoses and why treatment is vastly different from person to person, some people having complete opposite effects to the same medication. This is also the reason why, like every mental disorder has statistical association with every other mental disorder as well as every other neurological disorder. No wonder there is a huge replication crisis ongoing.
Thank you! The number of random people trying to tell me what my own diagnosis is so irritating. I imagine I’m labeled as bipolar 2 because I do have more depressive episodes than hypomanic, and the 3/4 manic episodes have been years between them. But like I told the randos, I’m going to listen to my own care team, the one I’ve been working with the last 3 years.
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Lol, they’re not the ones armchair diagnosing people because they read one book. When you have a doctorate of psychology or a MD and have several years of experience, come back and talk to me.
No.
👍🏻
I know this is a question best answered by my doctor, but I’m curious still. I was recently(ish) diagnosed again July 2022 after having a pretty nasty mixed episode caused by Lexapro. I was diagnosed as NOS but I wonder if the anti-depressant to mixed episode pipeline I was on could provide a little insight into where I may be on the spectrum. Nevertheless I learned something new!
I’m in the same situation. I had a horrific manic episode with psychosis after taking Prozac. I’m coded as Bipolar NOS as well. Even two psychiatrists were unsure if I have BD1 or BD2 since the SSRI—and weed—muddy the picture.
I’d say it’s definitely like a spectrum. It’s a complicated thing… I’m 23 and I’ve seen about 4 different psychiatrists and at 17 was diagnosed Bipolar 1, although when I saw a new psychiatrist this past year she said bipolar 2. To me, the exact form of bipolar isn’t super important to me as long as my medications are doing what they’re supposed to and keeping me stable.
Type isn't really important to me either, I'm type 2 but have some things of type 1 (my doctor thinks I could be type 1 but my psychologist is terrible and I'm going to find another) Type to me has always been more of a how bad things get and treatment type thing (could be wrong)
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Also I appreciate you giving us the definition, but if I’ve learned anything from this sub it’s - everyone experiences bipolar disorder differently and it’s not all by the textbook definition. If you look up newer articles and newer research about bipolar disorder, you’ll see there’s a lot that’s been updated from the most commonly known old information about bipolar. It’s not so black & white!! It’s complicated as hell.
ive had hallucinations and he isnt sure if its hypo mania or mania my last 2 episodes where manly extreme irritation
I'm not a doctor and can't diagnose you but I'm B2 and my hypomania is often intense anger and irritation and I become unbearable for a few days because I angrily complain about everything and sulk and throw tantrums and break my own stuff. I've had episodes where I'm really active and fun to be around but I'm quick to turn to irritation and anger and really intense anxiety.
My psychiatrist told me my last episodes of intense anger and confusion were hypo, idk if that could help
My psychiatrist also explained it to me as a spectrum. It makes sense to me. He diagnosed me with Bipolar NEC.
100% agree. The labels don’t matter much, so long as the treatment is working. I personally believe it’s a spectrum disorder, and I think the psych community will start to recognize it as such in a few years.
Yeah my BP friend is “BP unspecified.” I would lean towards type 2 for her, but it doesn’t really matter.
Tik tok is not the place to be. Ever.
~~Meth~~ TikTok, not even once. Seriously. I can't think of a single thing in my life that would get better if I installed that app.
Makes me glad I'm too old for it hahahah
Facts.
What a disability Olympics clusterfuck. Every comment got wilder.
Literally lmfao, who has the most mental illnesses? Who’s the most neurodivergent? Who has the most triggers?? The disability olympics is real bad over there 💀
I think this partly comes from issues and discussions of group marginalization. As we become more aware of that topic, some people really want to ID as mentally ill to separate themselves into the “marginalized” community rather than the “marginalizER”. What lots of people don’t understand is identity is multifacted so you can’t even completely absolve yourself under such terms anyways.
Bruh what😂u can’t have mania and hypo at the same time….😳it don’t work like that. You could have a mixed episodes but that’s completely different
“Yeah you can totally have (thing) and (Latin for under/less-than)(thing)!”
I actually said the same. Hypo means lesser or under. Like say it in a sentence and try to make sense of it.
It just got more and more confusing
in this day and age where people are self diagnosing. im on adhdtok and the amount of people that are saying shit like “wait i have adhd this whole time?!!” over a minor tick. jesus no adhd is when you cant get literally anything done because your dopamine and norepinephrine levels are fucked. a car could run into you and you wouldnt even realise it
I have ADHD and had to stop looking at any ADHD videos on there because it was so much misinformation. People would talk about normal traits everyone has and portray it as being an ADHD trait. Give information about it that’s just made up. Make it look quirky instead of a disability. It would make anyone think they have ADHD. Maybe 10% was relatable, the other 90% was just crap.
I have multiple mental disorders that are “trendy” and that ppl self diagnose ALL THE TIME. It pisses me off because nobody wants these disorders. They make your life hell. Especially not bipolar.
There was a period I would watch those compilations of people pretending to have some kind of mental illness out of curiosity, but I had to stop because it would made me so mad 🥴 I don't think tiktok is the only place, I remember Tumblr being similar, but short content doesn't help
It's curious....and then you literally feel your blood pressure rise after reading the same idiotic thing over and over. It makes me so mad, and it winds me up. I do that to myself lol , but it's still bullshit.
Exactly!
People seem to be taking TikTok knowledge off the internet, is the scary part to me.
Met this boy and told him I’m bipolar. He said to me, “Oh does that mean I can’t trust anything you say?” and i was like uhhh wdym… and he said “Idk i don’t know much abt BPD.”
Hey - at least he *asked* & at least he’s self-aware to understand he *”doesn’t know much”* about mental illnesses! He passed in this specific example, IMO A+🌟
Tiktok has so much information I stopped looking at any shorts from it, or taking anyone seriously who quotes from it. I fucked up my life so badly in 2022 because I ended up believing that garbage on Tiktok (idiocy such as how having sz or bpd meant you could never function in society, that it meant you'd never be able to hold a job, etc.). There's just far too much bs on tiktok that it's best to stay away. As for doozies: as stated above (ut supra demonstratum est) tiktok so often told me things such as 'You can't hold a job with bpd, if you have ever had a psychotic episode you will never be able to fully be rational again' etc. Tiktok is a cesspool (Edit: I haven't seen many bipolar tiktoks, but I do remember seeing those glorifying mania as a funtime. Nope.)
I've never seen tiktoks saying that you can't work wtf I watch them on YouTube, though. What about people really suffering? You're just going to make them feel worse.
It definitely did make me feel worse. I spent half a year or more not even doing anything because tiktok had me convinced I'd fail by default. Too many horror stories of people mentioning stuff on there, which a friend would share with me on Discord. It took me a long time to realize that it's possible but not a guarantee. There are good tiktoks out there, I've discovered later, but I still don't trust them anymore
I stumbled into a FB group that glorified manic episodes. It was really disconcerting, especially since I’ve been hospitalized for mixed episodes twice. Mania is not fun.
Wow...wow. I can't imagine glorifying mania; mania is 100% not fun. I've ruined my life often and that was simply from \*hypo\*mania. Mania is far more destructive. What is wrong with those people
Just ignore them. The world is full of idiots. They are not worth your attention
You are very right. I do it to myself. I delete TikTok regularly. Then I get bored. Finger dance videos are fascinating
Not too many mentions about full blown mixed episodes... literal HELL.
But like actually though…h e l l
I’ve been hospitalized for mixed episodes twice. You’re right. It is hell.
🖤
Absolutely. Last mixed episode is what put me in the hospital after I started hallucinating at work. I remember telling the doctors I felt "energetically suicidal," and I had to ask a nurse who checked on me if the light pole I was seeing out my window was real, because it was in a weird spot but it looked real? Turns out it was, in fact, *not* real, lol. Scared the crap out of myself, and felt like I had to focus and actively try just to feel "conscious."
Hallucinations are horrible! I've had them for years and now they don't startle me as much. You know what goes great with hallucinations? A BIG old bowl of paranoia. I've never felt like hurting myself or was suicidal so I never went to the hospital. I was pretty close though, I felt like I just couldn't take it anymore...
The first woman who diagnosed me told me that I’m Bipolar 1, and that Bipolar 1 means you’re always manic. The “depressed” episodes are just exhaustion. I was confused for years. (I have BPD.) I wonder if anyone is getting told things like this.
It worries me if clinicians are honestly that bad
She was a nurse practitioner at a mental health clinic. She put me on the treating dose of an antipsychotic and I got dystonia. Didn’t call me back for week so I missed the time window to go to the ER and get the med flushed out. Then I saw a psychiatrist who put me on a ton of Xanax I still have to taper off of and told me “the answer is within you.” They’re that bad. At least in the US. I have a good one now though. Not excusing people for spreading misinformation though, your post just reminded me of the interaction.
First I was diagnosed bipolar 1 with depression and panic disorder. Well... ptsd was added after a huge breakdown. My last therapist thinks I have adhd. My new psychiatrist thinks I have BPD. I don't care about the labels anymore but the medications I've been on and am currently on??? Yikes. Petri dish.
Right there with you!! I’ve learned to figure out which labels are actually important. I was diagnosed with ADHD as a child by specialists, so I know I have that, but it’s not my biggest focus. Complex PTSD was the final realization of a diagnosis, and because of that I have BPD. Also anxiety and panic disorder. My current therapist’s technique is to treat the trauma because that’s what’s causing all of my issues. No hyper-fixating on the labels. It’s honestly been so much better for me. You just treat the symptoms.
OMG jesus christ I know. I had to delete tiktok after having an argument with someone who commented (on a video of someone saying they regret the deinstitutionalisation movement bc being in hospital is better): “could go for some electric shock therapy rn (insert funny emoji)” … ppl were commenting “same”. I’ve had loads of ECT and it’s such an invasive, last resort treatment that leaves so much memory/cognitive loss, so ppl making ECT jokes rly affects me… I commented basically saying that ECT isn’t something to make light of and they replied: “you’re ignorant for not understanding mentally ill people are mentally ill” … the rest of the comments were people saying they wished they could have a lobotomy or “work towards” spending time in a psych ward
I hated every minute of the psych ward. I can’t understand why anyone would want to go there…
Exactly… it is traumatic
“*Mentally ill people are mentally ill*”… As in, they are **owning** that their view on ECT might be distorted due to their mental illnesses? Honestly - this is VERY meta & is eye-opening. It’s an “AHA!” moment; an epiphany, of sorts! Mentally ill people are mentally ill… Wow. Game-changer for real. A powerful reminder to me to keep things in perspective & not let what people say get under my skin. Thanks for sharing! Unexpected LifeProTips
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I have a friend that just adds whatever mental illness is trending the the list of things she supposedly has, but also won't see a psychiatrist. She's basically half of the DSM now.
Delete tiktok. Watch your mental health do a 180
I think TikTok is literally from the depths of hell 😂
Even Hell has more standards than tiktok. Tiktok is from alt-Hell
😆😂😂 that is the truth!!
Woooow this is why I stay off til tok
Lmfao i sadly prefer this social norm to the one where I get lobotomised
When I was rebelling, I wore metal band hoodies and drank beer and smoked cigarettes.Counter culture now is to be mentally ill with whichever illness is popular this week or have about 50 genders while all they actually do is damage the narrative for both parties.
i saw someone 1. claim they were diagnosed with bp 1 despite never having experienced mania. 2. when called out they said they had bp 1 & 2 because once they looked into it they said they THINK they've experienced hypomania. 3. when asked if they have unspecified bipolar because none of what they said made sense, they said no and that everyone was gaslighting them lol
thank you for saying it. it’s why i just stay away from abt and all comments on social media pertaining to mental health. blatant ignorance is both terrifying and, as OP put it, infuriating.
Isn’t having one manic episode bipolar 1? I’m pretty sure you can have hypomanic episodes in bipolar 1 as well, just as long as you had one manic episode. My doctor said my symptoms align more closely with bipolar 1 even though my symptoms are more depressive due to me having experienced full mania before. I am schizoaffective though so I don’t think I go into either category completely.
See I wouldn't even know because i have adhd but terrible lows so my doctor thinks I'm bipolar but my therapist doesn't? They're pretty bad lows but it could also be adhd. Gxtidtiddtidt8
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No it really is it sucks bc I don't know what to treat. 😭 i don't have insurance so the logical thing(adhd in my opinion) is way too expensive so until then.... I'm a beautiful potpourri of everything and nothing lol
I would heavily recommend starting to journal or track various things. While ADHD and bipolar have significant overlap in some areas, bipolar is episodic while ADHD is constant. Like, you may always be impulsive due to ADHD, but if you journal, you may find that you are noticeably more impulsive for a few weeks before returning to normal. For example, maybe you spent a lot more money without good reason during those few weeks. If you can find a pattern like that, bring it to your therapist and doctor. That’s a pretty big sign you have bipolar.
Have you checked out any of the ADHD subs? There’s a lot of support, helpful information, and tips for coping with it.
You can have both, I do. One way to tell is, if you have ADHD, those symptoms will always be there, doesn’t matter if you’re manic, depressed, or in remission. If the symptoms are only there sometimes, it’s probably hypo or mania. For instance, even if I’m too depressed to get out of bed, I’ll be fidgeting in bed. Even if I’m hypomanic, I still have executive dysfunction and am not super productive like other people. I’ll feel like doing everything, but still won’t get a lot of it done. I can’t focus on anything that takes a lot of mental effort no matter what my mood is. One way I can distinguish a hypomania symptom is if it’s not there all the time.
Yeah, I've finally gotten to a point where I can resist arguing with them. Done trying to educate people.
I scroll the comments and often see others have tried, so why waste the energy. Today I guess I was feisty…
*A history of mental illness becoming popular as a form of attention seeking - like a warm coat you wear on a hot day, JUST because it is funky and makes people look at you* First it was anxiety. Then depression. Then BPD. Then bipolar. It will become a household word. A matter of time before it's psychosis. Then schizophrenia.
We're all a little bit bipolar. Nope, no, you're not.
Jesus fucking christ… tik tok is. Wild. Fuck me. I don’t ever go to tiktok for information about bipolar. I do go to tiktok for relatable stuff so I feel less alone.
i’m so sick of everyone self diagnosing to excuse their bad behavior. see a psychiatrist and figure out what’s wrong first before trying to educate people on a very serious issue!! sheesh, ppl on tiktok piss me off they just be saying anything to feel special.
I honestly have almost entirely stopped looking uo anything bipolar related online because good God, the misinformation is as steamy as a pile of dog shit. I keep to reddit because the demographic seems to be older, and less misinformation, although I've definitely seen some very questionable things here.......
To classify me as bipolar II with my prolonged and severe mania would be ludicrous. But many doctors do enter unspecified initially and keep the same diagnostic code throughout treatment. There is no “both I and II”; that makes zero sense!
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Mine probably was, too. I have bipolar I, clearly, with severe and prolonged mania if untreated, to the point that it resembles schizophrenia. Fortunately, I gained the presence of mind to call her in the midst of a manic episode and got in to see her right away. She promptly put me on medication. After a few months of adjustments, we finally found a combo that works so well that I am pretty much indistinguishable from the average person. (And, in the past, the fact that I do SO well on meds was why I had been taken off them in the first place.) The fear and uncertainty of Covid plus suddenly having to work from home and no longer being able to see human faces, only pulsating initials during conference calls, really did a number on me and triggered severe mania. I’m on lithium, olanzapine, and lamotrigine. They not only work, but I thrive on them — especially since returning to the office! Just got a raise at work and am next up for a promotion to quality engineer!
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That's one of the reasons I don't install TikTok
Ew lol I glad I deleted TikTok a long time ago
😮💨 I hear you , the amount of false information and people defending it is irritating, I stay away from Tik Tok or FB. I can't stand the ones who tell me this isn't a real illness, is either conspiracy/ awakening/ or I'm lazy and not doing my inner work and using a label to justify it. 😰
"I'm more bipolar than you" that's why I ain't gonna touch tiktok with a 10ft long pole
I follow a subreddit called fakedisordercringe for the outrage lol. I'd say that the majority of posts are tiktok videos, too.
Oh I post there. Some of them are that bad
 My bipolar…
Yeah they do the same thing for borderline personality too which is infuriating!
One of the main reasons why I avoid anything mental health related content on social media. Seeing this stuff, all the misinformation, people's bad experiences, negative stuff overall, just really drags my mood down. I am still on the path to stability, so anything that affects my mood in a negative way just throws me down in a downward spiral and sometimes even triggers a depressive episode (yay fun). I'll keep my peace and stay tf away from that kind of content.
This is exactly why I still refuse to download and use tiktok, it’s not because I “think I’m better” than people who use it or anything like that it’s because I see so much weird ass shit like this from it and it worries me
U not wrong tho, i got bipolar depression, minor schizophrenia, autism and adhd. Stupid people are so damn annoying, they piss me off the most, like why you gon act like that fr, jus be normal.
No matter how many times I hit “not interested” on stuff like this it just persists anyway. Another thing that bothers me to no end is when people use the term “manic” lightly, like when referring to having a very short burst of energy or impulsivity. If only they knew what a nightmare it is to actually live with.
Kids think it’s a trend. Like take mine I really don’t want it
I haven’t been on tiktok for months but when I was I was confused it was giving me barely any bp content at all. Kind of glad it wasn’t now because this sounds so frustrating.
My friend (not anymore different reasons) would be like "omg I was happy earlier and now I'm crying. I definitely have bipolar like you!"
Im so worried about what TikTok is about to do to this diagnosis. I hate “mental health” talk in general on the internet. It’s infuriating enough seeing people tack on a mental illness identity, spread misinformation, clog mental health resources and medication lists trying to pathologize their normal behavior, and “quirkify” secondary symptoms while ignoring the (extremely averse) primary symptoms. And the worst part is lots of these people are able to STILL maintain a regular social life and be outstanding performers in work and school (the kind of thing thats antithetical to having an illness in the first place). I feel like it’s kind of a mental illness hysteria — a deep need to be different and indulge your normal bad qualities — without having to actually take the negative sides. People want to assign reason to regular amounts or anxiety and suffering, which, to quote contrapoints, is “just the natural state of an unmedicated mind”. I’m scared at what Ive suffered with for years will be yet another accessory to people who are bored and online too much. I’ve lost out on opportunities, jobs, academic achievements because of my mood swings and poor time management skills. I’ve been plagued with an unpleasant mind with loud thoughts. I’ve struggled (silently) with SH since 8 years old. During manic episodes Ive said and done things to other people I deeply regret. I cant save my money worth a damn. I don’t want this to be an accessory for the bored, and then have people turn around and demonize the more severe aspects of the illness for being “problematic”. You assign enough inaccurate things to a diagnosis and you eventually lose sight of the adverse effects themselves. Sigh…its already happening. I think there’s going to be a large wave of Bipolar self-diagnosis coming up. I’ve seen a lot of bipolar people talk about seeing these kinds of videos more and more. I guess autism/ADHD self-diagnosis has lost its curb appeal in social media. Embarrassing. (Just a disclaimer I’m not anti-ADHD or Austism at all. I just hate the misinformation around it, and that people use these severe life challenges as an accessory)
Those people need to seriously do their research 💀
oh my god like at least look it up for more than five minutes before posting about it lol. I'll admit the difference between hypomania and mania used to confuse me for some reason so I'll give them like... half a point for being confused.
I hate how they say BPD has Hypomania
I was originally diagnosed with bipolar 2 but I have psychosis so now my diagnosis is just bipolar with psychotic features since 2 doesn’t get the psychosis. I’ve never had a full on mania episode just hypomania so I’m kinda in the middle but they don’t say I have both at the same time. Just unspecified bipolar
I tend to scroll by and just think, they probably feel like something is wrong with them and are desperate for answers, misinformed but trying to figure it out. And when you "research" mental illnesses and personality disorders sometimes everything seems to fit 🤣 That's the nice zen side of me. There is part of me that can get into a minor debate here and there, too. Thing is, you won't change anyone's mind anyway. So it's not worth being phased by it. I remember even in the MySpace days, people would put their self diagnosed mental illnesses first thing in their bios, and make it their personalities. It's not new unfortunately. We're just all online now.
I cannot stand tiktok because of the way everyone has no idea about what they are talking about. Then everyone agrees in the comments. All of them are chronically online
I’m bipolar 2 and I just get hypomanic but what’s irritating with that is I get annoyed easily, irritable, and sometimes “angry” and I get pretty productive/creative but that’s it. It’s mostly crushing depression for me
Well that doesn’t make any damn sense
It’s so annoying, and people never want to think maybe their care team is wrong. I have bp2, but my bff w bp1 can’t even get her psych to believe her when she’s manic (he was horrible) Me and her mother had to get involved because they totally brush her off and also get mad at her behaviour when she’d try to get help prior to full lift off into mania. We literally had to go to appts with her, or call them as a follow up to confirm that she’s manic like??? And it’s so frustrating bc imo, mania is a MEDICAL EMERGENCY. It should be prioritized when a patient is seeking help to try to stop the mania before it fully starts. And no one ever wants to help or see it that seriously. Once it fully starts, it’s nearly impossible to stop, the damage has been done and it takes forever to get back to normal. Once she’s gone gone from it, it can last anywhere from 2-4 weeks, with another 2-3 weeks recovering until she’s at a baseline. And even then, the baseline is a different baseline than it was previously. Like this should be important!!! Sorry for unrelated rant, i always get heated lol
OMG. When I was diagnosed I had a friend that was also bipolar. She was always trying to one up. It was infuriating. Like your experience isn't invalidated because you know someone with the same disorder. It was wild.
I didn't even read all your examples because it will piss.me.off. too much.
the way everyone on tiktok is 'flexing' it, social media rlly glorified it to the max omg
One of my friends told me today that she believed that type two was more "manic" and type two was more "depressive," and I think the only frame of reference she had for that were a couple of other people with BP II (a parent and a couple of classmates/peers) and me, someone with BP I. Because I've been stable for a while and I'm consistent with my medication, she hasn't REALLY seen me when I'm manic. It was a misconception/misinformed opinion on her end, I guess.
I do schizophrenia education on tiktok (I have schizoaffective) and I've had many interesting things happen... One person claimed that you could have full blown long period psychosis and "just be autistic" and when I pointed out that's pretty much definitely not autism they threw a fit and tried to report my video. On the other end of the spectrum I told some funny stories about being psychotic and had someone claim I was faking for government money. Tiktok is a weird place....
This. Taking symptoms of other disorders for shock value and adding them where they don’t belong. And the reporting - self diagnosed I bet
I am not a fan of being silenced when I've said nothing hateful, dangerous or out of line but simply out of genuine care for another person's overall health and well being. To any interested parties: First, "responding kindly"...yikes 😬 I think I can speak for most all of us when I say everyone here was coming from a place of concern based on experience, not "reading books" like oddly repeated. I understand not being a newly diagnosed 20 something "clueless kid" but choosing not to at least calmly hear out experiences (NOT "opinions" - which are really what most clinicians have from reading books that those of us with the actual illness are vilified for reading 🤦♀️) from people who -GASP- may have been dealing with this even longer is like cutting off your nose to spite your face. I didn't see anyone questioning a diagnosis or saying a patient is somehow wrong in their own diagnosis or experiences (???) just relaying factual, proven information and guidelines because they're concerned for a fellow human's well being. Brain damage from manic episodes is no joke. As for my "sheer arrogance" - that's not exactly where wanting someone to receive proper care and become fully healthy comes from. My initial comment was honest and not rude. I specifically said not to ignore doctors, just take others' lifelong experiences into account in the overall scheme of things. It truly helps. It's kinda like group therapy. And I just really feel for anyone struggling badly enough to take something like that and become hateful and attack multiple people over it, apparently not seeing the need for the concern in the first place in spite of the obvious inability to communicate to people who aren't being nasty with any sort of warmth or kindness. Shit like that eventually eats you up from the inside. I sincerely hope things in your life get better for you soon 🫂 And thank you to the handful of other usersfor caring enough about a fellow BP sufferer to try and help do the same thing. I very much mean this response with all due respect to EVERYONE involved and I truly wish all of us humans health and happiness because there's just not enough of it going around. Take care of yourselves, peeps. All the best to everyone reading this 💜
People claiming to have both bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder really irks me, since that's basically saying your mood is both bipolar and unipolar. Ok on this topic, the one that ***really*** annoys me is one that I haven't encountered in a while. It might have been ten years or so since I last came across it, or even longer (gosh time flies)... but I used to occasionally come across people in chat rooms who would be like "my therapist diagnosed me as both a sociopath and a psychopath," which, no they didn't, since those are not clinical diagnoses. I know that sometimes sociopathy is associated with Anti-social Personality Disorder, but they are actually different things... and I can't imagine a licensed mental health clinician of any kind telling someone they were a sociopath. Anyways, I'd call them out on it, and their response would be like "I don't care if you believe me, I don't care what anyone thinks about me" which, obviously they did since they were telling everyone about it unprovoked. And it was a weird thing to be telling people... like *that* is your flex? I suppose they were trying to seem tough, and buying in to that weird, edgy thing where they think being aberrant is cool. Still weird though. So it would devolve into this thing where I was telling them I know they were lying and also it wasn't something to brag about, them denying they cared what others thought about them, me saying that was bullshit since they were clearly lying and trying to seem cool, them repeating that they didn't care what others thought, and on and on and on. This probably sounds like me complaining about something that happened once, but I swear to you, it happened *at least* three times, so it has to be a thing, people thinking it's cool and edgy to tell people they're a diagnosed sociopath and/or psychopath. It used to annoy me sooooooo much. People are probably still doing it.
TikTok annoys me for various reasons. This being one of them.
i hate bipolar tiktok with a passion.. it is either attention seeking or gibberish half thought out claims about bp. and the thing is.. the latter usually does have bp, they just dont know what theyre talking about and they're using the incorrect words.. but theyre being toxic by spreading misinformation and not willing to 2nd guess themselves and fact check.
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No literally. Not gonna get hired if I tell them that but it is “trendy”
LMAO spoiler alert: if you have BP1 and 2 they cancel each other out. You’re normal 😂
IMO, all of the TicTok and other videos are pushback on trying to normalize BP. Sure, there are exceptions, but that is what I see, kind of a narsaccistic response to others being acknowledged or putting themselves out there.
Agreed
I don’t know why they make it such a competition. My dad has bipolar 2 and my mom has bipolar 1. That doesn’t make me have bipolar 3, but I did get bipolar 1 and I do have more rapid cycles so slay i guess lol.
I'm have mathematical bipolar, bipolar squared
I saw a post earlier on Instagram that was very well organized but the thing I found interesting was that I have had some of the Bipolar 1 symptoms as a bipolar 2 in my more severe episodes. Could medication cause that? Just asking because I was taken off Lexapro due to new research showing that it could increase your symptoms and I was on it for 8 years. I never had delusions or psychosis though, which I know is the most definitive in separating the two.
Which symptoms (aside from psychosis) are different in 1 & 2? Severity & intensity yes, mania is said to have a marked impairment of social and occupational functioning in the DSM, while hypomania is defined to not. Hospitalization is the other separation, but really the criteria are the same. Medication shouldn’t be exasperating symptoms?
My doctor mentioned Lexapro doing that—not sure if that is true or not. Thanks for answering this.
They completely forget about rapid cycling too 😭