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  #1  
Old 17th March 2018, 12:59
Spider22324 Spider22324 is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 127
Default Do I have bipolar disorder or maybe ADHD?

*sigh* I have a feeling I***8217;m going to end up receiving a gradually increasing amount of hate and/or negativity for my repeated depressing posts on this forum lately.

Some of you may have seen my most recent thread where I said I***8217;m boring, sensitive, ignorant and gullible. I***8217;m ignorant because there are so, so many things that I don***8217;t know or haven***8217;t learned which pretty much everyone else knows or has learned, such as common words and common activities that every adult should know how to do (I***8217;m 27). Now, in that thread, someone said that I***8217;m ignorant of some things because I simply haven***8217;t been taught them. I hate to confess, guys, but that***8217;s not entirely true. The truth is: it could be my own stupid fault. In the past, I sometimes didn***8217;t pay much attention during school, and I hardly ever wanted to go and try new activities for myself, which fully explains why I only recently learned how to change a light bulb (badly), change a fuse and use a kettle.

In the aforementioned thread, I also mentioned that when I was 13, I got humiliated in front of people for not knowing what an erection was. Someone who replied to my post said they were shocked that no one had told me what an erection was by the age of 13. Well, actually, it was my fault. I hadn***8217;t paid much attention during sex education, and I only read a TINY portion of a booklet that I was given, about puberty, etc.

More good examples of me being ignorant:
  • When I was 14, I didn't know what "getting laid" meant.
  • My long-distance girlfriend recently asked me if I have any comfort foods. I didn't know what that meant.
  • She also once used the expression "having sex like rabbits." As I'm so ignorant and gullible, I ended up asking her, "How do rabbits have sex?" I felt so stupid.

Now, the fact that I didn***8217;t mention that during my previous thread is leading me to believe that I have some kind of disorder, and I***8217;m leaning towards bipolar disorder, mainly due to the fact that I often suffer from mood swings. I have suffered from mood swings for a long time. I know many people get mood swings, but I think mine are getting worse and more rapid. Perhaps the mood swings caused me to forget to mention certain things in my previous thread, or perhaps I didn***8217;t feel like mentioning them?

Also, when people are talking to me (either in person or on the phone) or when someone is talking during a TV show, film, game or video, sometimes I lose interest and stop listening, especially if it***8217;s something that I***8217;m not interested in or find boring. That***8217;s not a good sign at all. On the other hand, if I did listen to what they were saying, sometimes I***8217;ll need it to be repeated multiple times because I***8217;m ridiculously slow to understand things. I***8217;m not sure what***8217;s to blame for that, but it***8217;s not a good sign either.

I feel like I have led you guys astray without realising it, and I am now wondering if there really is something wrong with my mental health that either a) went unnoticed when I was at school, or b) only recently developed.

And honestly, after I***8217;ve finished typing up and posting this thread, I***8217;m pretty sure I***8217;ll experience another very intense mood swing that will cause me to think, ***8220;Oh, why did I post that? It***8217;s all nonsense!***8221;

I really don***8217;t know what***8217;s wrong with me. I***8217;m very confused, and I actually wanted to cry while thinking about what to mention during this post.
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  #2  
Old 18th March 2018, 00:46
gregarious_introvert gregarious_introvert is offline
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Default Re: Do I have bipolar disorder or maybe ADHD?

Hi Spider, the first thing I want to say is that I am not a mental health professional, so any opinion I may give concerning any condition you may have is relatively meaningless; however, "mood swings" are not normally an indicator of bipolar disorder. It is true that bipolar disorder involves highs and lows, but these are (usually, from my understanding and experience in those I've met who are affected by BPD) very extreme highs and lows, which last for days or weeks at a time: during the highs (which used to be known as the "manic" phase when the condition was known as manic depression), it is common for the sufferer to feel almost invincible and capable of everything (I actually had to persuade someone who was off his meds that he couldn't fly from the window of his fourth floor flat!), whilst the lows a very extreme form of depression in which suicidal thoughts are frequent.

I can understand why you would believe you might have ADHD and I wouldn't rule that out; however, what you describe could also indicate that you have an autistic spectrum disorder (in truth, there are numerous conditions with similar symptoms that you could have one or more of many options). You mention in particular phrases like "getting laid", "comfort food" (which is an expression I heard for the first time relatively recently) and "sex like rabbits" and an inability to understand idiomatic expressions is a possibly indicator of autism, as is "zoning out" during conversation. If you feel that it is having a major impact on your life, then it may be worth asking for a psychiatric assessment, although there is no guarantee that this will be accurate, as many people are misdiagnosed; however, it may open the door to treatment.
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  #3  
Old 18th March 2018, 19:29
Spider22324 Spider22324 is offline
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Posts: 127
Default Re: Do I have bipolar disorder or maybe ADHD?

Quote:
Originally Posted by gregarious_introvert
Hi Spider, the first thing I want to say is that I am not a mental health professional, so any opinion I may give concerning any condition you may have is relatively meaningless; however, "mood swings" are not normally an indicator of bipolar disorder. It is true that bipolar disorder involves highs and lows, but these are (usually, from my understanding and experience in those I've met who are affected by BPD) very extreme highs and lows, which last for days or weeks at a time: during the highs (which used to be known as the "manic" phase when the condition was known as manic depression), it is common for the sufferer to feel almost invincible and capable of everything (I actually had to persuade someone who was off his meds that he couldn't fly from the window of his fourth floor flat!), whilst the lows a very extreme form of depression in which suicidal thoughts are frequent.

I can understand why you would believe you might have ADHD and I wouldn't rule that out; however, what you describe could also indicate that you have an autistic spectrum disorder (in truth, there are numerous conditions with similar symptoms that you could have one or more of many options). You mention in particular phrases like "getting laid", "comfort food" (which is an expression I heard for the first time relatively recently) and "sex like rabbits" and an inability to understand idiomatic expressions is a possibly indicator of autism, as is "zoning out" during conversation. If you feel that it is having a major impact on your life, then it may be worth asking for a psychiatric assessment, although there is no guarantee that this will be accurate, as many people are misdiagnosed; however, it may open the door to treatment.
I'm going to go with borderline autism/Asperger's. Earlier today, I had a chat with my parents about it, and my mum (who actually works for a charity that deals with people who have disabilities, etc.) showed me the website for The National Autistic Society. There, it lists the symptoms/traits of autism/Asperger's, some of which match what I have:
  • Poor social communication and interaction.
  • Difficulty processing what people have said.
  • Difficulty understanding jokes and sarcasm.
  • Difficulty paying attention.

I'm going to see if I can get referred for a diagnosis. It sounds like I don't have social anxiety disorder at all, but perhaps borderline autism/Asperger's instead.
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  #4  
Old 28th September 2018, 07:11
Ducky Ducky is offline
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Mood
Fine

Default Re: Do I have bipolar disorder or maybe ADHD?

Hi Spider!
I like spiders!
I am a non-medical mental health professional
Your sharing tells me that
1. You sound normal like the rest
2. May be you are less exposed, for various reasons, to social interactions
3. May be having less friends and minimal opportunities for feedback that helps you improve self
4. Apprehensive about social interactions and might avoid them

Absolutely, there is no age limit for learning and improving ourselves...

The mere fact that you have reached out through this Forum, opening a new thread says, you are as capable or even more capable to improve yourself.
Go out and observe how people interact.

Since your mother is involved in Charity work, would it be possible for you to join as a Volunteer with any organization and contribute in whatever manner you could; not in any special way, just doing some games, or assisting in mobility or offering physical support...anything you could

Forget about many things you dont know, but be happy about things you know and use it meanigfully!
Take care
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