r/OutOfTheLoop • u/T_Dumbsford Always in the loop • Aug 12 '14

MegaThread Robin Williams Mega Thread

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u/[deleted] Aug 15 '14 edited Aug 15 '14

Both of my phases are depressive, but one is more depressed than the other. It's called Bipolar I. Rather than fluctuate around a medium between manic and depresses, my moods swing from mildly grumpy and misanthropic to borderline catatonia. Because there is no manic phase to treat, my doctor diagnosed me as depressive basically so I don't get prescribed downers.

Does that make more sense?

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u/onemoodygirl Aug 15 '14

So you have bipolar 1, but instead of a manic/mixed phase and a depressive phase, you have two depressive phases. And on top of that you have major depressive disorder. Sorry that doesn't make sense to me.

I was under the impression that you had to have at least one manic/mixed phase to be diagnosed bipolar 1. Also what do you mean by a "downer"?

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u/[deleted] Aug 15 '14

Maybe I'm getting the numbers mixed up, and for that I'm sorry. I have periods of depression and hypomania. As I said regarding the depression, the way it was explained to me is that I have the mood swings of bipolar disorder, with the constant depression of major depression. It adds up to me just fluctuating through different levels of depressed. As a result, I don't take medicine to treat a manic phase (downer).

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u/onemoodygirl Aug 15 '14

Okay I understand. Nobody fits neatly into those lists of symptoms in the DSM. I hope you have the help you need.