Bipolar II is a lot of nonsense
 

Bipolar II Disorder is not a manic-depressive illness. Hypomania is not mania- not by a long shot- and the neural processes involved in the production of hypomania in both Bipolar II and Bipolar I brains differ radically. More importantly, we know a lot about the processes underlying true mania. We have specific programs poposed- studying Na,K-ATPase, unusual gene adaptations, and the melatonin system.

None of this stuff applies properly to Bipolar II. Bipolar II involves only "hypomania," which fits the description of many peoples' "good week." The disorder doesn't display the novel sodium ion channel behaviors of Bipolar I; the genetics of Bipolar II are confounded by the fact that until recently no one had been diagnosed with it because some psychologist had just made it up, then attaching hypomanic affects and behaviors exhibited by the normal, or at worst the depressed, to the Big Bad Kind of Craziness that we used to call manic depression.

Bipolar II patients need psychiatric care for the crushing, underlying major depression that is the reason most of them went to a psychiatrist in the first place.

I'm bipolar I, of course, for the record
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Hi Johnfloyd and welcome to NeuroTalk. Big bad kind of craziness?? :D

i don't think it is a continuum either if that is what you are saying. i suffer from anxiety and depression and have suffered most of my life and finally have some relief that it can be called something rather than personal failure.
I do go through periods of hypomania which can be very productive
bobby

Im Bipolar II.... and Im proud of it :D

Kidding... bad sunday joke... erm, yeah, hypomania sucks and, I think that it is more difficult to be diagnosed if you are bipolar II.... so, it has its cons of course...

Welcome to our lovely boards ! :hug:

Personally I'm not bipolar either one.

And I am not sure I understood exactly what you posted. I personally
know lots of folks that are bipolar II and its not a picnic. Its not
just depression.

Because I also know lots of depressed people too. Soo to me what
you wrote isn't the way I see it.

SO I hope you enjoy the forum. And hopefully someone will explain to
me what you meant.

Donna:hug:

Johnfloyd6675 firstly thanks for your coment of which you atre totaly entitled to your opinion,



BP II of which i can make out by your explanation is more a depressive episode rather than Mania epsidoe which i can only asume you refer to as steroeotypical; elation, over excitied behaviour , and what others refer to as wild/crazy/happy /beautiful days...full of energy/creativity/inspiration/inovation/etc]

Well my friend i was diagnosed BP II 4 years ago, and yes i'm a depressed and somewhat repressed and a boring Bastard at times....and i'm more sorry i dont fit your diagnostical opinion of bi-polar

Yet by word deffinition there is a clue in the illness diagnosis BII=2............. POLAR= EXTREMES

i AGREE most of my mood elememts are depressed states & negative thoughts.......when i get happy or excitable [more so at work, imaginative , inovative and come up with fantastic ideas that other people take the credit for Them and become managers or other people become rich off the ideas] im told i'm loud and opiniated, overbearing, which as you can imagine [or not] send me crashing back to a submissive misserable depressed state.

BP II to me is inovative personalitiy that is supressed by self indulgient bullies.

once again thankful for your insightful post..........

[when i practically cut my left hand off 19 years ago, and which is still useless with no feeling...... i was at the time downing....... two hours after what i thought was a positive day,,,stopped smoking ...returned to work after 9 months off due to breaking my back etc........maybe i just dont cope with negative & deflamatory remarks well...from people who ........are self indulgient egotistical morons.....

maybe that is my real diagnosis.....i despise 50% of the worlds population...........................the ignorant half


David

I can't post links yet so I'll put the beginning of this article and I'm sure you can Google it if you want:

Big Psych trying to sort out the details of the things they made up. Bipolar I is like schizophrenia, its a genetic mental difference. Bipolar II/BPD may be influenced by genetics but it's as much a personality type, with strong genetics for moods, but not actually manic-depressive bipolar.

link to article
 

thank you John.

i think we need to be careful about invalidating an entire disorder (or "neurological reality" :p), regardless of its etiology. I personally found your first post in this thread a little inflammatory in that sense, even if perhaps it was not meant to be.

I would certainly agree that it makes sense to try to frame things as correctly as possible... our understanding will hopefully increase as medical sciences advance.

here is the link to the article John refers to:

Demystifying Borderline Personality: The Cyclothymic-Bipolar II Connection

by Hagop S Akiskal, MD, on Medscape.