Are you bipolar or an addict looking for insight from a like-minded soul? Have a loved one suffering from bipolar or addiction and want some inside advice? While I’m not a doctor or medical expert, I can tell you about my experiences with this dual diagnosis and look to support others with replies. Note that your submission may be used in an upcoming blog post, although names will be changed.
This week Stephanie M. writes:
So, what’s the difference between being bipolar and having depression? Don’t they mean the same thing?
Bipolar and depression are completely different, yet similar, diseases. Depression is one component of bipolar, formerly called manic depression.
The other component to bipolar is mania, which manifests as an off-the-charts happy mood. When an individual is manic, he or she may go on expensive shopping sprees, engage in promiscuous sex, or think they can conquer the world. Delusions of grandeur are common. When I was manic, I thought I was a celebrity on a reality TV show. When you’re manic, you talk fast and are fascinated by anyone and anything. Manic people need very little sleep.
Mania can be fun — until it gets scary. People in the throes of mania can experience panic attacks and extreme paranoia, symptoms that don’t usually appear with depression. Anxiety is a symptom that appears in both diseases.
Sometimes depression is called unipolar depression. It can also be called major depression or major depressive disorder. There is an extreme aspect to unipolar depression as well: extreme sadness for no apparent reason.
People who struggle with major depression may experience crying fits, body aches, and loss of interest in formerly enjoyable activities. They may not be able to get out of bed, or sleep 15 hours or more per day.
My depression first surfaced when I was working at MTV News in 2008. When I had my first major depressive episode, I took a cab to work every day because I couldn’t handle being around people in the subway. I also couldn’t sit still in my office and so would take frequent walks around the block. When I was depressed, I would lie down on my couch and stare at the TV — usually MSNBC — not even paying attention to any of it. I didn’t listen to music — my greatest passion. I just didn’t feel like it. When you’re depressed, you don’t feel like doing anything.
My first psychiatric diagnosis was depression. I was prescribed Prozac and it turned me manic within a matter of months. If you get diagnosed with depression and prescribed an antidepressant, one way of knowing if you are bipolar or not is to monitor your mood when the depression lifts. Are you too happy? Are you staying up all night? Are you hallucinating?
Those are the biggest clues when it comes to differentiating between bipolar and depression. Both are nasty diseases, but each can usually be managed with the proper medication and therapy, as well as diet, exercise, and healthy sleep hygiene. [link to sleep hygiene]
Depression is like a 10,000-pound boulder crushing your entire body. A treadmill that seemingly never stops. A chokehold that leaves you gasping for air for what seems like forever. It’s the worst part of bipolar. Even worse by itself since you don’t have mania on the flipside. And I wouldn’t wish it upon my worst enemies.
