Tell Me More About Bipolar Disorder.
9. What can cause similar symptoms?
Many other mental disorders can resemble bipolar disorder, or co-exist with bipolar disorder. For instance, when someone is manic, heavy drug or alcohol use is common. Consequently, a person may be diagnosed as only having a substance abuse problem, when in fact they have a mood disorder too. It is also very common for people to experience a depression and not be asked (or not know) if they ever have had a hypomanic episode. Then they are diagnosed and treated as if they only had regular clinical depression, where the treatment with anti-depressants alone (without a mood stabilizer) may provoke an episode of mania.
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