father is bipolar, am I?

[Jessica281]

Hi. Im an 18 year old girl, who's father was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder a few years ago. I am afraid that i may be Bipolar, i find myself being happy and in the same day finding myself in the most mixed mood swings. I sometimes have to ask myself why am i upset and sad, there are times i get so angry and upset about such little silly things, and feel i cant take life anymore. I tend to make harsh choices in this mood and say things i truly don't mean if i think about them later. I also tend to hold grudges, and it takes me time to get over something even if it was pathetic. However i do have happy days when i don't feel like this... please help me?
How do i get tested for Bipolar?
What are the chances of me having it?
Thanks

[corlenbelspar]

Look in the phone book under "Mental Health Services" or something of that nature and call the one that sounds like a centers for mental health.  Eventually you can get in to talk to a psychiatrist who can diagnose you if you do have Bipolar Disorder but I'm going to warn you it might take months for you to get in to see them and you'll probably see a therapist first and have to wait some more months before you get in to the psychiatrist due to their being so many people these days with mental illness and so few trained professionals and the former is constantly growing a lot faster than the latter.  Roughly 2.6% of the population currently have been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder which is 2.6 out of every 100 people and there's probably even more who have gone undiagnosed or misdiagnosed as Major Depression.  Since you have a parent who has it your chances increase in developing it but I can't give you a percentile figure to be exact.