Is it depression or bipolar disorder?

Major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder have a lot in common. Both are mood disorders, meaning they involve fluctuations in mood that can be totally unrelated to life events. Both involve depressive episodes, which are periods of low mood.

Want practical tools for navigating life with depression and anxiety, delivered right to you every week? Subscribe to my Self-Hope Psychology Newsletter: Mental health support made for the messiness of life.

In fact, the only real difference between major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder is the presence of manic, or manic episodes, in bipolar disorder. But these very similar conditions need to be handled very differently.

Antidepressant medications, the primary treatment for major depressive disorder, are extremely dangerous for someone with bipolar disorder to take as they tend to make manic episodes worse.

Get my book: For When Everything is Burning

Connect with me on TikTok:

Hear the Podcast:

#majordepressivedisorder #bipolardisorder #manicepisodes #sideeffects #misdiagnosed #itsgettingworse #mentalhealthmatters #clinicalpsychology

[kimsusan]

This was super helpful! As someone who suffers long and severe depressive episodes, the extreme relief that comes when I feel normal has sometimes made me question if I could be bipolar. You expressed that really well; thank you!

[desireelevesque]

I appreciate you mentioning ADHD as something that is sometimes missed when a person also suffers from depression or bipolar disorder. I have been diagnosed at different times in my life with ptsd (childhood abuse) depression, bpd, anxiety and bipolar 2 (displaying primarily depressive symptoms). I'm pretty sure that due to being placed in gifted and talented programs as a child (5th grade, around early 90's) that inattentive adhd was missed. I was well behaved and scored well on tests, but I rarely did my homework, started projects at the last minute and went through a cycle of cramming and data dumping after the exam. That behavior pattern has extended well into adulthood (I'm 42) and is severely detrimental to my ability to manage my life. When I asked about being tested for adhd, I was told that my depression needed to be brought under control first (after 15+ years of therapy and being a guinea pig on various antidepressants with no success) I believe that the adhd is the underlying condition that is causing my depression and anxiety. If I could get s**t done, maybe I wouldn't feel like an utter failure and be living a life overwhelmed and demotivated by all the stress of my to-do list. On tests I've taken online, I score with a high probability of adhd, but with the abuse of many medications, doctors seem to be reluctant to diagnose and treat adhd especially in adults, when I've managed to keep a job and not outright die from the condition. The passive (and occasionally active) SI are real due to my struggles with life management. Seeking another opinion when I have health insurance again and hoping for the best.

[lindanoreika]

The only thing that helps me is the need to see animals, especially horses. That seems to be my only comfort. This is what God gives me.

[lailanitukuafu]

I have major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and ADHD. Every mental health professional I've talked to has asked me if I've had manic episodes, but I really haven't. I was lucky enough to have a fantastic first therapist who, above anything else, listened to me describe what I felt in my own words. I had a period of normal mood while I was still seeing him, and the change really was drastic. He said it looked like bipolar disorder to him, but he had a very imperfect set of data to go off of because he only saw me once a week and of course we talked about the problems a lot more than the little happy things in my life. So after I described what I felt a little more, we decided it was unlikely that I have bipolar.

I really miss him for several reasons, but a major one is that I've since seen multiple other mental health professionals that had very obvious biases about what they thought I have. It's like instead of seeing me as a unique individual with my own experiences and then going off of that, they interpreted their own oversimplified version of me and compared that to the cookie cutter descriptions they knew. Then they decided I have this thing and it was almost like they were trying to get me to admit or confess that their descriptions fit me perfectly. It was like leading the witness but for therapy. SO frustrating

[ambertornatore]

I’m 40 yrs old and have been diagnosed with MDD, panic disorders with agoraphobia, ADHD and I was 15 when I was diagnosed with depression and in my later 20s was diagnosed with the rest but thank god I have found a doctor who listens and has given me a way to contact her directly if something is wrong and this is where she apparently thinks I have the wrong diagnosis and may be manic or bipolar so today we will discuss everything, she’s the first doctor who hasn’t completely given up on me and she thinks it’s bc of my manic episodes when I can’t control my emotions is when doctors just don’t want to deal with it but not her and more doctors should be like her!!

[Trollophile]

I was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder in my late teens. After suffering a 2-month psychotic episode in my mid-60s, my diagnosis has now been corrected to Bipolar, Type 2 (with ADHD). Life has been one helluva ride due to a misdiagnosis!

[le_th_]

I always thought bipolar disorder was differentially diagnosed by the MANIC episodes, solely, and not the depressive episode.

Plus, there are times when people SHOULD feel depressed...
...loss of a loved one (or serious illness of a loved one)
...loss of a pet (or serious illness of a pet)
...loss of a job
...physical illness that limits their ability to participate in life in a way they enjoy
...being the victim of a crime (being intentionally targeted by a predator)
...living in a conflict zone
...living at or just above the poverty line
...being homeless (or about to be evicted)
...experiencing a loss of faith (i.e. realizing organized religion as a scam)
...leaving a cult
...being ostracized at work/home/religious group
...being the report of a narcissist or/borderline/sociopath/psychopath, and if they have more than one of those people in their life, they should be DOUBLY depressed (i.e. spouse and boss)

There are many very valid reasons people SHOULD feel depressed because it is appropriate given their situation. What is legitimately concerning is when things are going well in their life, they're surrounded by healthy people who love and have empathy for them, and there is no reason for them to feel depressed.

Get the narcissists, borderlines, histrionics, sociopaths, and psychopaths OUT OF YOUR LIFE first. That is priority number 1. Then you can *begin* the healing process, and you'll have a snowball's chance in h3ll of getting over the depression. As long as you have a or psychopath in your life, you're going to experience depression because these toxic people will quietly SUCK YOU DRY of all energy, vitality, and health.

This is a very ugly truth that the vast majority of clinicians won't tell you because many clinicians suffer from these disorders, themselves. I got lucky....very, very lucky...and I happened upon a clinician who told me about narcissists way back in 1999 and I will forever be grateful to her. She was the first person to introduce the disorder to me.

This is the best channel I have come across. Your description of symptoms and analysis is so spot on. Every video I have heard so far I feel like this is exactly how I feel. All your tips and advice are so easy to follow. Thank you Scott ❤

[ItIsJustMeMe]

Thank you for this excellent explanation! I have found this extremely informative. It explains so much in terms that make so much sense.

[diliaestefaniaoliveros]

I know I'm depressed right now. But before I visit a psychiatrist I want to make sure I can describe the way I feel when I'm not in this mood to help them to get an accurate diagnosis. So I've Journaling my moods for about 6 months

[janetross]

Just to clarify manic depression is an old term for bipolar disorder. Its use was replaced by bipolar disorder in the early 1990’s to reduce the stigma associated with its name. Great video. Very informative.

[Mouse_]

That really helped a whole lot. I live in a rural area in the south and the area I live in is known as a area with poor education and healthcare. I have very good reasons to be sceptical of diagnosis here but this clears it up because I don't have the manic part. It feels kind of manic whenever I come out of depression, but it doesn't fit your description of manic state. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you !

[louise]

You make it so simple and clear to understand thankyou 🌸

[rachelturner]

Thank you so much for sharing and thoroughly explaining alternate diagnoses. The level of detail in what you might see and what it may mean is so helpful! I truly appreciate your open approach.

[heatherwiner]

The only med that helped me was Lamictal though I know I am not bipolar in any way, shape or form. Long, long periods of depression and then it lifts and I am "normal". Have irritation and anger episodes though.

[dave]

My worst manic episode was when I spent two months going up and down the country buying a total of six convertible BMW's, paid more than 100k for them, and sold them all to the same person one month later for 5k, my Psychiatrist at the time had no hesitation in diagnosing me with Bipolar 🙃

[MinkaSchlossbergerever]

I am a Cat- Lady, I live with 4 rescued Cats in a flat. They are so great, Kind and funny, ...I never feel lonely. When I was a child, I wanted to be an adult, WHO can efford to have Cats...without anybody, , who tells me, to geht rid of them. I am mostly Happy now, and thankful .

[lezangrobbler]

Thank you for talking about this❤❤❤ all if it💯

[grizelleramirez]

Dr.Scott pleasetalk about bipolar 1 and Bipolar 2 disorder, Thanks!

[SoSkepticalFox]

Wanted to watch this video just to double check, i was never officially diagnosed but ive had 2 doctors try and diagnose me with bipolar even tho i never experienced manic episodes. It was extremely frustrating because i was questioning if i had adhd and they dismissed that without much thought but they kept digging to try and find anything that could be a manic episode.
About 2 years later i saw a 3rd doctor who i once again talked to about adhd and we unpacked a lot from my childhood to fairly confidently feel i could have adhd, and for a while i was having fairly good success with medication to treat it.

However i still have depression so still work to be done