The Differences Between ADHD & Bipolar Disorder

[Music] I've had many people ask me what the differences are between ADHD and bipolar disorder this makes sense on so many levels and we're gonna explore this topic thoroughly I've spoken with countless people who were misdiagnosed with ADHD as a child when it was in fact bipolar disorder all those years waiting until their adult life falls apart to find out they've been receiving the wrong care their entire life is beyond frustrating in fact it's downright devastating I was reading some research by a Harvard psychology teacher who had some amazing insight into this topic his name is roberto ole VAR dia if you want to check out his work there are millions of people in the US alone with bipolar disorder studies have shown that up to 70% of people with bipolar disorder also have ADHD which surprised the heck out of me about 20% of people with ADHD will eventually develop bipolar disorder when someone has both which we call a co-occurring disorder the lines can get really blurred this is where a lot of the misdiagnosed patients come from if someone has both the disorders can enhance each other's in some very negative ways this can include even stronger ADHD symptoms and an earlier onset of bipolar disorder at a younger age those who have both were also predominantly male and many were also diagnosed with conduct disorders like OD D we also have a large number of people out there who are in denial and they're looking for anything that might give them an out for the diagnosis when a doctor says they might have bipolar disorder which is obviously a heavily stigmatized and very serious mental illness and makes so much sense to gravitate towards anything less serious I mean if I had throat cancer I would love entertaining the thought that it was just strep throat especially if a medical doctor planted that seed in my head it's not anyone's fault it's just human nature we might even subconsciously work to convince a that it's something other than bipolar disorder we'll even seek a second and third opinion until we hear what we want to I've been there myself and it took me time to learn that I don't get to choose my illnesses they choose me accepting that saved me from all sorts of fresh hell doctors will go on the information that we give them if you go in there and you already have your mind set on ADHD you'll probably walk out of there with a pocket full of Ritalin and a pat on the back do you know what happens if we're given medications that exacerbate the bipolar symptoms well we see a lot of those stories on the news ADHD shares some similar traits with bipolar disorder which explains why so many inexperienced doctors will throw an ADHD diagnosis at any hyper kid that comes through their door very important if a doctor diagnoses you right away it does not mean that they are just good at their job in fact the best specialists I've seen took their time and they were cautious to hand out a life-altering diagnosis they took even more time to determine the specific type people get frustrated when doctors don't have immediate answers or treatment for them this isn't like when we were kids and we went to a doctor to quickly fix a bompa bruise or even a broken arm what a doctor determines here can literally make or break us let's get into some of the important differences and similarities between the two hopefully this will help you navigate through some of the overwhelming information that there is out there it makes sense that doctors confuse the two because both conditions involve things like racing thoughts trouble staying focused sleep issues emotional dysregulation impulsivity irritability and hyperactivity just to name some now that's quite a few similarities but there are easily just as many differences a bipolar diagnosis and the specific types are actually based on the way that we experience the mania and not so much the depression if we just talk about the manic or Hyper symptoms we might get an ADHD diagnosis if we just mentioned the depression we might get a unipolar depression diagnosis treating just one side of the bipolar spectrum can cause the other symptoms - literally skyrocket this isn't always the doctors fault that we get misdiagnosed out of innocence a lot of us have no idea that certain things are even symptoms in the first place so they get overlooked both the doctor and the patient have to take responsibility together to achieve an accurate diagnosis with mental illness learning as much as you possibly can is key but remember to stay away from sources that confirm your own biases about the situation if you want to talk yourself out of the truth there are plenty of sources online to assist you with that one of the most notable differences between bipolar disorder and ADHD is the depressive episodes the DS and ADHD don't stand for depression do they sure we all have bad days in our lives where we get sad maybe our dog died but if we feel that level of sadness without any external reason that's when there might be a more serious issue going on the severity and duration of the depression is also very important most people don't get suicidal thoughts or make plans when they're sad and especially if the sadness is happening for no apparent reason most people don't fall into a deep depression for weeks or months at a time unless there's something else going on here's a great example of the differences let's say you're an athlete or a musician with ADHD you might get bored easily and lose interest in practicing sometimes with bipolar depression you lose interest in everything it's like a gray blanket covering all the color in your life your job your hobbies your relationship remember I mentioned the duration and severity of symptoms with ADHD you might experience changes in your sleep and appetite that these are usually tied to things that are going on in your life you might have gotten behind with work and decided to push 12 hours a day to get caught up you might skip eating because you don't want to lose your momentum with the project you're working on with bipolar disorder you might lose your appetite and not be able to sleep for many days at a time regardless of what projects you have going on are you starting to see more of the big picture here well let's keep going deeper it's really common for those with ADHD or bipolar disorder to get fatigued when we do too much and therefore have a hard time concentrating as a result I know all about that one the Harvard psychologists that I mentioned quoted a 28-year old man living with both bipolar disorder and ADHD the 28 year old summed it up really well by stating it's as if I'm walking in molasses through my life even in situations where the day before I was dancing my ability to focus is completely shot in a way that makes ADHD look like a cakewalk that's a pretty powerful statement another major difference between ADHD and bipolar are the feelings of utter worthlessness that come with the bipolar depressive episodes this can be the catalyst for suicidal thoughts plans or even an attempt about 1 in 5 people with bipolar disorder take their own lives that's right one in five of us don't survive this illness nearly half of those with bipolar disorder will make a suicide attempt at some point in their lives it's a major epidemic even famous stars with all the money fans and comfort in the world are on the evening news all the time because they lost their battle with depression it goes to show that it doesn't matter how strong you think you are how much money you have or how wonderful your life appears to be let's frame this a little differently if you had a one in five chance of dying if you didn't wear your seatbelt would you drive without one probably not yet people hear the doctors say mental illness and they just hit the gas without any consideration of the seat belt the seat belt of course is a metaphor for treating the bipolar disorder one in five seriously don't play with those kind of numbers we've covered a lot of the differences in relation to the depressions so let's move to the other half of bipolar disorder the mania one of the classic trademarks of bipolar disorder is what's known as hypomania this can include symptoms like feeling euphoric or on top of the world inflated ego or self-esteem plenty of energy after very little sleep and so much more I have a whole video talking about bipolar mania if you want to go deeper I mentioned inflated ego and self-esteem to expand on that people with bipolar disorder can reach levels of grandiose beliefs where they might feel like they're destined for greatness or some kind of spiritual leader or on a spiritual mission to save the world or literally the best in the world at something sometimes it can be more subtle examples would be like saying I'm smarter than anyone I know versus I'm smarter than anyone else in the entire world those with ADHD usually don't have grandiose beliefs like that there's another side to mania that isn't all puppies and rainbows though and this would be dysphoric mania which is the opposite of euphoric hypomania this can also be loosely called mixed episodes mixed States or mixed mania this can include extreme agitation irritability engaging in risky behavior and even violence the source and intensity of these symptoms is key with ADHD symptoms of irritability usually stem from boredom sleep deprivation a specific stress trigger or overexerting the mind and body someone experiencing bipolar mania can feel all of these things regardless of what's going on in their lives a 35 year old woman with bipolar and ADHD put it like this with ADHD symptoms I can feel excited and full of energy with bipolar mania it's like a Fleury of uncontrolled energy that feels out of control going in every direction and sometimes even scary there's a darker side to bipolar disorder that not a lot of people talk openly about this includes things like substance abuse hyper sexual behavior reckless spending unnecessary risks with your life thrill seeking to chase the mania total road rage things like that with ADHD these impulsive choices are typically something that they want to do with bipolar disorder they might feel very compelled to do something while manic but have no desire to do the same thing when they're not manic for example someone with ADHD might go to a casino with friends to burn off some of their fidgety energy someone with bipolar mania might stay there all night spending their entire life savings and maxing out credit cards I've watched this happen in person then when the mania subsides their financial reality sets in and they have no desire to go back when the mania comes back they might do it all over again regardless of the previous consequences they experienced there's another major difference between ADHD and bipolar disorder those with ADHD do not experience psychosis now before I get into this one it's important to know that not everyone with bipolar disorder experiences psychosis either you could have a milder form of bipolar disorder like cyclothymia where psychosis is non-existent or extremely rare psychosis is basically the end of the line for a lot of us with type 1 bipolar disorder which is what I'm personally diagnosed with it's where there's a detachment from reality similar to how people would picture a total nervous or mental breakdown these are the times when I've been hospitalized where I've done the most damage to my life and relationships and where I've literally been a danger to myself or others it's not a joke again I have an entire video talking about psychosis if you want to learn more so now we've covered a lot of information you're probably starting to see how there's distinct differences between ADHD and bipolar disorder it's if not watch the video again at a later time because this is a lot of information to digest although ADHD and bipolar disorder share some of the same characteristics bipolar symptoms and episodes tend to be triggered more easily they last longer they're more severe and they occur chronically or in cycles with how common ADHD and bipolar disorder or experienced together any doctor who diagnoses someone with one should take a good look at the other not doing this borderlines on negligence in my personal opinion but I'm a little more cynical when most when it comes to doctors get to know both of these disorders yourself the doctor can only do their job if a patient provides enough information to do it if you're new to bipolar disorder and you want to talk to me personally about all of this I'm here to help it's what I do I live with very severe bipolar disorder myself and I've made up my life's mission to help others not suffer as much as I have I'm not a medical doctor but more of a professional patient and coach it's hard to get a true understanding of what it's like to live with bipolar disorder from a textbook I speak from true personal experience and can help fill in some of the gaps you might have when it comes to information out there a very warm welcome to puller warriors and I hope you'll stop by the channel again soon stay well [Music] you

Channel: Polar Warriors

Views: 135,402

Keywords: Difference Between Bipolar and ADHD, Bipolar Disorder & ADHD, Bipolar With ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, ADHD, Attention Deficit Disorder, Polar Warriors, ADD or Bipolar Disorder, ADHD or Bipolar Disorder

Id: Q_1M5u_DGFU

Length: 15min 29sec (929 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 30 2019