OK. I truly want to ask this without offending anyone so I hope I word this correctly. I do know a bit about bi-polar but do not claim to be an expert, or even close to it. A bit of an explanation of how I gained some of my knowledge-I spent ~15yrs seeing diff doctors seeking an answer to my 'problem' and was diagnosed with, among other mental disorders, bi-polar. I went to groups, took meds, read up on it...blah blah blah. So I'm not an expert, like I said, but I have a fair amount of experience with the treatment, symptoms, etc. Oh and I was even hospitalized a few times...fun times (sarcasm). Turns out I have, had since birth or at least early childhood, right temporal lobe epilepsy and NOT any of the stuff I'd been told or treated for, in ffact some of those meds cause seizures.
ANYWAY, fastforward a few years and I'm now co-habitating with a man who says he has been diagnosed bi-polar. He says he's been on37 medications and none worked for him. He refuses therapy as well. I do not see the up and down moods. All I see are bouts of what I can only describe as tantrums when he doesn't get his way or things get on his nerves. I do believe this is either a learned behaviour from childhood (I've been told he did exhibit it very early on) or a mental issue. He claims he doesn't always remember the hateful things he says but I've tested that by repeating something but changing it a bit and suddenly he can repeat the whole thing right after denying remembering it. Also he sems to be able to turn it off if he senses he will get in trouBle- ie a neighber calls the police.
Sound like bi-polar???