Bipolar?

[Suzanne_April]

I suffer from anxiety and self diagnosed depression. Some days I can be full on happy for no reason and some days I feel really depressed. Sometimes I wake up feeling majorly depressed and two hours later I will be fine? I am guilty of self harm and I used to do it all the time, but recently I stopped (2-3 months) and I was really happy. A few weeks ago I started getting very anxious and depressed again and I hurt myself again. I am very creative, always singing, playing violin, drawing, writing- always being arty.
I've read that these are signs of bipolar and I want to know what to do? I am almost 15 and have noticed my depression since I was 13... Should I talk to my school nurse? xx

[zsadia]

Hi Suzanne,

In your case i would definitely recommend going to a mental health expert and getting a professional diagnosis and plan of treatment than self-diagnosis and inflicting self harm. Perhaps getting a recommendation from your family doctor might be a good idea, that's what worked for me. Another idea could be calling the psychiatry dept of a university near you. sometimes those young doctors are more willing and easily available in terms of accepting new patients and are less prone to just prescribing a cocktail of drugs to suppress the symptoms that you are experiencing.

In either case, go talk to a professional and take a loved one along for support, it certainly helps! the sooner you get properly diagnosed and get medical attention the better you'll feel and the better your symptoms can be controlled/treated. you're too young and have your whole life ahead of you so let a professional help you help yourself.

Good luck and take care. Do write to this community again for support and let us know how your visits to the PDOC are going.

[nlr_tiff]

It's good that you are aware of these things about yourself. Self awareness is key. You may want to mention this to your school nurse, but he/she may or may not know much about mental health.
I suggest you ask your parents if you can see a psychologist or psychairtrist (sp?). Find someone who is trained to diagnose mental illness using the latest DSM IV book.

Good luck. Hugs,
Tiff