This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »
No.
When young, I lived with a bipolar man for 30 months. He was wonderful during his normal periods, exhausting work looking after him when catatonically depressed, and terrifying when manic. I barely survived his three attempts to murder me when he was at the peak of his mania. He ended up being caught by the police and committed by the judge to an asylum.
There is only one sure way to diagnose the condition and that is by blood test.
This shows abnormalities in naturally occurring lithium levels.
Diagnosis is not always straightforward. It may start with guessing based on symptoms, history and family genetics.
But the condition can be complicated if other conditions are simultaneously present.
When young, I lived with a bipolar man for 30 months. He was wonderful during his normal periods, exhausting work looking after him when catatonically depressed, and terrifying when manic. I barely survived his three attempts to murder me when he was at the peak of his mania. He ended up being caught by the police and committed by the judge to an asylum.
There is only one sure way to diagnose the condition and that is by blood test.
This shows abnormalities in naturally occurring lithium levels.
Diagnosis is not always straightforward. It may start with guessing based on symptoms, history and family genetics.
But the condition can be complicated if other conditions are simultaneously present.