Expert: Jurriaan Plesman, Nutritional Psychotherapist - 11/13/2005

Question
Hello,

I was wondering how a person is diagnosed as being bipolar. Is bipolar the same thing as having a chemical imbalance? I have heard both terms but did not know if they meant the same thing.

A bit of background on me. I have had a happy life, for the most part. The years after college were rough, I went through a bad time,with being unsure about my profession, and not having a lot of money. I was very depressed,  but eventually I got over it, and got better. I am happily married, no children, with a wonderful family. But sometimes I really "fly off the handle" and I can't explain it. I tend to be very impatient, even the littlest things, like having to wait a long time to be seated at a restaurant, get me in a bad mood and I even curse about it. If someone cuts me off or something while driving, I get very mad and it ruins half my day. I almost got fired from my job because of this: I tend to get frustrated with myself and I don't yell and scream, but I do get mad and voice my frustrations. My boss actually had a meeting with me about that. So it is really starting to affect my life.

My husband says I am the sweetest person but doesn't understand why I can get so angry within a matter of minutes. I have never hurt anyone, and I never would, but sometimes things that complete strangers do get me so mad. Even at the gym, if someone is on a machine too long that I want to use, I actually start to get furious. I don't do anything about it, I just mutter under my breath and get geniuinely annoyed. I used to be such a happy person, and I don't know what happened. I can be in a normal mood and then something will set me off.

The thing is, how do I know if I have some kind of imbalance, or if it is just extreme stress and/or bitterness about the things that have happened to me in the past? I still harbor deep-down insecurities and even some resentment for people who have treated me unfairly in the past. I don't know if that is normal or if there is a problem here.

How do you get diagnosed, and if you are bipolar, do you take medicine for a time, or is it a lifelong thing?

I want to be a happy person, I don't want to be this person that gets so mad and is angry so often.

Thank you for any advice you can give me.

Lisa

Answer
Dear Lisa,

Well bipolar disorder is marked by extreme mood swings and is often due to a chemical imbalance.

I feel your mood swings can be explained in terms of hypoglycemia.

This is a disorder that can also cause mood swings in a milder form and for people to lose their cool, in in addition this is combined with a low self-esteem, that gets people easily hurt. if you have a low self-esteem you can get easily hurt by the way people treat you.

The best thing is to first test yourself with our NBI at our web site. You'll find it at:

http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au/articles/nutrition-behavior_inventory.html

Complete the questionnaire and see what your score is. If it is high it is likely that you have hypoglycemia.

See:

“What is Hypoglycemia?”
at:
http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au/articles/what_is_hypo.html

Then go on the hypoglycemic diet as explained at:

http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au/articles/hypoglycemic_diet.html

This diet will normalize blood sugar, insulin and stress hormone levels and helps you to remain calm.

But it is important for you to do our self-help PSYCHOTHERAPY program. This will help you to get rid of any negative self-image that other people can trigger in you. It also shows you that we have  a RIGHT TO BE IMPERFECT, not only applying to yourself but other people as well. Once your recognize your own imperfections, you will be willing to tolerate this in other people as well.

It includes an Assertiveness Training Program that teaches you how to defend yourself against criticism, not only from other people, but also coming from within yourself. The art is to be assertive WITHOUT being angry or upset, AND without upsetting other people.

Jurriaan Plesman, BA (Psych) Post Grad Dip Clin Nutr
For more articles see
http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au