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Bipolar Disorder/bipolar II vs something else?

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Expert: - 2/28/2007


Question
Hi Dr. Goldberg-
I am in the process of consulting with as many professionals as I can with regard to significant problems I have been having. I feel that I am at an impasse. One psychiatrist insists that I suffer from severe anxiety & depression; another that I have bipolar II, mixed states. I notice some overlap between the two. Can you point out what you see as key differences between the two diagnoses? Many thanks.

Answer
Hi . . .

Unfortunately psychiatric symptoms are on-specific. Depression and anxiety may be found in people with an anxiety disorder or in people with a bipolar disorder. People with mood disorders, especially one of the varieties of bipolar disorder have fluctuations in their behavior and feelings way beyond anything seen in people with an anxiety   depression.

The questionnaire at:
http://www.psycom.net/depression.central.bipolar-screening.html
does a good job of identifying people with one of the bipolar disorders.

Best regards . . .

Ivan
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Bipolar Disorder

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Ivan Goldberg, M.D.

Expertise

I am a psychiatrist/psychopharmacologist with many years of expereince in treating individuals with depressions, manic-depression (Bipolar Disorder), other mood disorders,. I am especially interested in the psychopharmacologic treatment of individuals with so called "treatment-resistant" syndromes.

Experience

I have been on the staff of the National Institute of Mental Health, Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. I am currently in full-time private practice in New York City.

A.B. Johns Hopkins University
M.D. N.Y.U. College of Medicine

I am the creator of Depression Central:http://www.psycom.net/depression.central.html

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