bipolar?
 

My MIL has been telling me I'm bipolar for a LONG time now....she says my A is too and my two yr old son!!!!???? She tells me all the time, when I started seeing a shrink she said "did you tell her about how you're bipolar and your mom and sister are too and how you should be on meds?" WHAT????!!! I think her telling me this is MAKING me NUTS. How can she feel so free to diagnose me? I feel like because she's on meds for, I don't even know what, she thinks everyone should be....I talked to my mom about it for the first time and she said that that is not true, that I'm an aries and I happen to express my emotions and speak when I feel something, she said there is a whole range of 'normal' it is not just one thing and that I fall well within that range and that I shouldn't be convinced I have something when I don't. What is bipolar anyway? Is it manic depressive? I know it means mood swings but is it like a chemical imbalance or something? Had to vent on that one...being told that I am sick in the head constantly is one of the things making me so unsure of my decision to leave. Thanks guys :) :a102:

Is she just in denial about her son's alcoholism? "Bipolar" might be easier for her to deal with than the dreaded word "alcoholic". Before I accepted the fact that my BF is an alcoholic I soothed myself into believing he was bipolar when in fact it was his drinking that caused the mood swings and mine.
Or maybe she's just a b**ch!

lmao! No she's not a b**ch! hehehehhe.......I think she just gets these things in her head and convinces herself and everyone around her that she knows ALL because she has done research on one thing.....she doesn't realise how damaging it can be to others...like with me leaving, she says she is supportive of it but then goes on and on about how awful it is for her and how upset she is over it and can't stop crying (like it's a walk in the park for us)...and I say "don't say that s**t to me 'coz I'll end up staying so i don't make you upset!" and she just replies with "I'm not gonna lie about how I feel...I see other solutions than tearing your family apart" AAAGGGHGHHHH!!!!! So I'm tearing my family apart? I thought drunkeness and infedlity might have something to do with it? But no, it's me being BIPOLAR!!!! LOL

I love her a lot, she has been a very good friend to me and all in all I did pretty well with my MIL...but sometimes I for get that she's still HIS mom.

The only person who can say whether or not you are bipolar are you and your therapist or psychiatrist. There are clinical tests and guidelines for diagnosis that can help these medical professionals decide if there is a problem.

However, the fact that you are letting this get to you makes me wonder... (if the concept had been utterly silly, you would have just laughed it off)... is it possible that you sense something wrong? (I'm just wondering)

In any event, it might be helpful to see a psychiatrist, if only to be able to tell your MIL that you have seen a professional, and you are perfectly fine! At the very least, do not let her label your baby. Nobody can tell if a child that young is bipolar.

Robin

i asked my therapist about it but she didn't seem comfortable making a call like that this early...she said people convince themselves they have many things....think i need to see her more. so we'll see. as for our son my husband got really angry about that, quite rightly I think, and told her to back off from that subject...he's completely your typical 2 yr old, shy of new people, laughs, cries, he's very demanding but he has also just become the middle child and is very much doted on. I hope he IS assertive, geez...you need all the courage you can muster if you're gonna make it in this world!

My mother is bipolar... IN a manic state, she would be up all night for days, rambled on and on. Some symptoms are excessive spending, (normal for some people but my mom never was a shopper so it was all out of character for her) extreme highs and lows..When she was diagnosed, it was very obvious something was wrong with her..Even her workplace called our house to tell us abiout her odd behavior at work..Maybe your MIL isn't really familiar with bipolar

I think lots of people get tempted into being convinced they have diagnosed something in someone else. From depression, to alcoholism, obsession to anything they've heard of, people understand some small fraction and see a pattern that isn't there.

EVEN IF a psychiatric diagnostic label fits it should be remembered that those enjoying healthy lives do not seek help in the first place, the process of diagnosis is only SUPPOSED to be used where there is something causing a disruption and interfering with an individual's life. The saying that we could all be diagnosed with something is probably true but we won't be because there's no need to.

Secondly diagnosis is a complex process - not a simple matching process, many conditions can only be diagnosed if other conditions have been excluded, therefore reading about a single diagnostic label can be misleading. Thirdly psychological symptoms are open to interpretation and it takes years of training + developing test to know how to produce an objective conclusion. I believe strongly that it's harmful to diagnose without that knowledge.

That said I think it's often done in all innocence and with more concern than malice. If you don't know how a system works how can you know how much that knowledge would matter? Diagnostics is a fascinating subject, before practicing it there needs to be an understanding of it's history, clinical uses and limitations and above all it's level of accuracy - which in Psychiatry is somewhat less than 100%!! Then of course you need to follow an evaluation procedure that's been shown to work, have access to medical notes and a face to face consultation!!

Anything less than that is just an opinion, using a medical word to express an opinion does NOT give it validity.

I know it's not out of malice but amateur diagnosis drives me potty!!

thank you equus...and me too! Next time she says it I'll tell her to button it and leave it to me and my shrink!

My soberiety date is 09/02/04...Immediately, everyone in my life said that I needed to be checked out for Bipolar! Let me share something I know about that - Manic Depression runs on my Mother's side of the family, YET IF YOU ARE NOT BIPOLAR and you go to the doctor & mention Bipolar, to follow with a prescription for such disorder, YOU DEVELOPE BIPOLAR and there is NO reversing the damage done from the prescription...My response to everyone that screamed "Bipolar" was "You worry about you & your life and when I've been sober & clean for a minimum of 12 months, then maybe I'll check into whether or not I'm Bipolar! Now, at 1 year-3 months sober, there's NOT a single person who still thinks or believes I'm bipolar!! Manic Depression & Bipolar are NOT the same disorder and shouldn't be confused. If you ever start to doubt or wonder because of the BS said to mess with your head, please do your own research before you react to what other's probably don't know a damn thing about! And as for being an Aries, I couldn't agree more with your Mother!! Must be a very smart woman - I'm a scorpio and there's nothing like waves when they crash or the water that runs deep, just as equal to a fire that's ragging & flaming high honey!!

So if you're put on meds for it it can make you bipolar?! Wow, didn't know that.
Yes, my mom is a smart woman (I'll tell her you said that)...and a good mom :) And I LIKE being firey and I'm gonna stay that way! LOL
p.s. My MIL also thinks pre-therapy scorpio women are all bipolar!
guess it's the theme these days! ...sheesh

That is total and utter CRAP.


Blue
diagnosed bipolar/manic-depressive 25 years ago - sober 14yrs

Keep ur spunk Sarah, That doesn't make u bipolar. Aries are full of fire- Tell that woman to kiss ur ass. She is way out of line!! Maybe well intended, not sure, since I don't know her. My best friend has manic depression/bipolar if u had it u would know it. Look it up on the internet if u question it, check for symptoms, if any apply check with your Dr. Don't u love MIL !!!!! Take Care,

Do a google on -bipolar. It may help you decide if you need to look into it more. I also can't believe that a certain medication would cause you to beome bipolar. If you go into deep depression and then have periods of 'highs'- maybe? Really only a doctor could decide/ dax

Bi-polar disorder has resurfaced as the "in" condition. It was Back in the 90's, then it was ADD and ADHD, and now its Bi-polar and Anxiety Disorders.

Im not taking away from people who actually have these, I have an anxiety disorder.

But, it seems that these diagnosis' come in sporadic waves of popularity amongst medical professionals and in laws alike.

Sarah, of course your MIL thinks you are bi-polar. You have extreme feelings of euphoria and happiness when she is not around, and the opposite when she is.
Hmm. no wonder?

Keep your firey attitude, its not a bad thing :)

*ROTFLMAO*

heheheheh...thanks guys :)

This may shed a little light on the subject. Especially the question of whether or not medication may exascerbate the condition:

http://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/...atures/n_9986/

I would ignore this person. They are not qualified to diagnose such a serious mental disorder, only a psychiatrist can do that.