What are the symptoms of manic depression?

[Yorehl]

Sometimes I'm the happiest person you know! I'm all bubbly and nothing can get me down and I love it! But then other times, especially at night or when something seemingly small goes wrong, I feel horrible, and I start to look back on all my problems and I just want to lay there and cry. My mom says I'm manic depressive and I know it runs in my family because my aunt has it. What do y'all think?

[msfsteven]

I think it is called Bipolar Disorder. Here are some links:

http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind...h/bipolar.html
http://helpguide.org/mental/bipolar_..._treatment.htm

And here is an older forum:

http://www.teenhelp.org/forums/f14-m...olar-disorder/

I hope you find what you're looking for (: Good Luck

[viemexis]

Steven's right; it used to be called manic depression but it's now called bipolar disorder. However, you really shouldn't self-diagnose. If you think you may have a disorder, see a professional. Sometimes there are medications, depending on the problem. A lot of people with bipolar disorder find mood stabilizing drugs helpful - but again, it's something to see a professional about and they'll give you a better idea what your problem may be and how to deal with it. Bipolar disorder is not the same thing as simply being moody; we all have ups and downs, some more severe than others, and that doesn't necessarily make you bipolar.

[Megg-Killed-The-Prom-King]

yeah its Bipolar, its quiet common in the younger generation.
If your not sure, you can go get tested at the doctor

[LeapOfFayth]

Originally Posted by Megg-Killed-The-Prom-King

yeah its Bipolar, its quiet common in the younger generation.
If your not sure, you can go get tested at the doctor

It's actually not common in any generation. In fact most people develop full bipolar disorder in late adolescence or early adulthood and only 2.1% of Americans actually have bipolar disorder at some point in their lives.
It's uncommon for a doctor to actually diagnose a younger individual with bipolar disorder unless the symptoms are severe due to mood swings being a normal part of childhood and adolescence.

To me, what you've described sounds like hormones. It doesn't sound anything like a manifestation of bipolar disorder, and I know quite a few bipolar people.
But it never hurts to see a doctor about your concerns.

[Thirteen]

Originally Posted by Fricky Ricky

It's actually not common in any generation. In fact most people develop full bipolar disorder in late adolescence or early adulthood and only 2.1% of Americans actually have bipolar disorder at some point in their lives.
It's uncommon for a doctor to actually diagnose a younger individual with bipolar disorder unless the symptoms are severe due to mood swings being a normal part of childhood and adolescence.

To me, what you've described sounds like hormones. It doesn't sound anything like a manifestation of bipolar disorder, and I know quite a few bipolar people.
But it never hurts to see a doctor about your concerns.

I've actually heard that its closer to being 1% of the population. Either way, it's a small percentage though.

As Rick said, doctors are extremely hesitant to diagnose Bipolar Disorder in adolescents due to things like hormones fluctuating. Hell, from my personal experience, as someone in her early 20's, I've had mixed reactions when talking to professionals, between Bipolar Disorder becoming "trendy" (with the likes of Charlie Sheen and Demi Lovato whoring the word), and the fact that the disorder ISN'T common, and has very specific symptoms, which you don't seem to meet.

[LeapOfFayth]

Originally Posted by Thirteen

I've actually heard that its closer to being 1% of the population. Either way, it's a small percentage though.

I believe (and it varies by whoever does the study) that one study was 1% for bipolar 1 and 1.1% for bipolar 2. Another was 0.8% for bipolar 1 and 0.5% for bipolar 2.

I just took the bigger numbers as it was the most recent (2003) while the smaller set of numbers are from 1986 I believe.