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I have added some [inline comments]:

Quote:

Originally Posted by patriotrising (Post 1007636)

Have you ever done any of the following during a "bright" spell?

[After reading your answers, I'm not sure that question was completely clear. The purpose here is to identify behaviors that you might engage in during "bright" spells (or highs), but which you'd not do otherwise.]

Taken on projects which were unrealistic?
No, but I have been given projects by my boss that were unrealistic.[ROFL! :D]

Thought you could do things or learn to do things that go beyond human capacity (eg: fly)?
I assume you mean self powered flight without the use of an aircraft? [LOL, yes, but it was a mere example.]

No. [Should I read that as a general "no", or "no" just to the example?]

Behaved in ways that are socially unacceptable?
Surely this would be entirely dependent on the social circles one moves in? Shouting obscenities in church on Sunday morning would be socially unacceptable. Doing the same at your team on television on Superbowl Sunday not so. [Precisely. I should add that cultural norms are also factored in.]

I also really couldn't care less about what society deems acceptable or not. [This makes the question a throw-away in terms of characterizing bipolar, but the information would still be relevant to a psychiatrist.]

Done things you'd normally consider unethical?
I do things that others consider unethical on a daily basis. I do not consider them so. [Again, this info is psychiatrically relevant, but the question was trying to establish whether being high causes you to do things that deviate from your own ethics while high.]

Made excessive purchases, rash investments, life changes, or similar?
Sold everything and moved to a different country in 2002. Yes. [Do you feel then, that your choice to move was the product of a mood high, and that you would not otherwise have done it?]

If so, to what degree were you aware, during the episode (as opposed to after), that your behavior was "off"?
I've always known I'm 'different'. [Clarification: "off" meant, out of character for you.]

Basically, most bipolars have spells in which their behavior is significantly different from their usual behavior. The degree to which this is true can vary.

This is the reason I asked these questions, and why the answers/examples would help your doctor determine whether or not your are bipolar.

Your dark/bright post certainly suggests bipolar spectrum to me, but that isn't enough for a diagnosis. Mood instability can be present with other disorders. Most bipolars have times when they are not manic/hypomanic or depressed, although for some, these times might be few and far between. After a long time of unremitting cycling, it can be difficult to determine what is "in character".

waves