Can “Clinical Depression” Turn Into “Bipolar Disorder”?

Question by Lily56: Can “clinical depression” turn into “bipolar disorder”?
I was diagnosed with clinical depression years ago, have been on medication for years, and lately have been noticing odd mood swings. They tend to be on different days, so maybe different days are better than others and they’re not actually swings. Yesterday, I called out of work because I was crying and couldn’t bear putting on a happy face for the public. Today I went in and it didn’t completely suck. It’s still not what I want to do with my life, but it felt like a normal day. So, can diagnoses change?

Best answer:

Answer by Adam
I don’t know if that sounds like bipolar. It sounds like a bad day followed by an ok day.

I think that people are misdiagnosed rather than having their illness turn into something else.

Try doing some research. Do it with an open mind, don’t try to put yourself into a box.
http://www.bipolar.com.au/ this site has a quiz and other information.
http://www.bipolar.com.au/questionnaire.cfm this is the quiz on the site for people who believe they’ve been misdiagnosed.

Answer by Snippet
In mental health, diagnoses can and do change. Additionally, there is a lot of overlap between various disorders. For example, I see many people who have both depression and anxiety.

That having been said though… Well. If you have depression and have a day that doesn’t completely suck in terms of your mood, it doesn’t sound much like bipolar. It’s not at all uncommon for people with clinical depression to have good days and bad days, or mood swings for that matter.

Bipolar is much more severe than just having mood swings or good days and bad days. People with bipolar have manic episodes, which are much more severe than just having a day that feels better than another one. It’s a quite rare mental illness and nothing you’ve said in this paragraph sounds like a manic episode to me.

What I suggest though is that you see an experienced mental health practitioner and have a talk about what’s happening. No one on yahoo answers can give you a comprehensive answer because we don’t know all of your circumstances, and no one here is able to diagnose you. Even if it’s not bipolar, it could still be good to talk to someone about it.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

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