Bipolar Disorder and ADHD - Part 1

[@robertbrady5764]

Hi Russ, love the content. I am a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner in Florida specializing in treating ADHD. Your content has been a blessing to me.

[@GingerYams]

Wow I was just diagnosed last week with both of these perfect timing Russell! I was diagnosed when I was a kid but never received treatment. My life is falling apart so I am on a journey of addressing my problems now.

[@JazzyNicholette]

Thank you for this! For years I thought I could have bipolar but it didn’t quite fit. I was diagnosed with ADHD this year and your videos really help me

[@mariamabass6701]

The timing of their video is kinda crazy for me. For the last month, especially just yesterday, I was really sitting here wondering "What if it's actually bipolar disorder?".......The only word I knew to describe some these mood irregularities was "mania", but I knew full-blown bipolar disorder really felt incorrect and too extreme to associate with. For the manic episodes slide, I mainly do only experience the symptoms highlighted in yellow. The "manic" phases really are still apart of the adhd. The emotional dysregulation and related anxiety really just have such a huge impact that's not well discussed. It feels great to be aware of now, but sucks that this is not communicated much to patient it's the public. Please continue highlighting the mood-centered symptoms Dr. Barkley. Since discovering your videos, I've finally been able to verbalize what's wrong with me, and research the correct terminology. For years there always felt something "off" or "missing" about the adhd diagnosis, but now that I've read more papers, it actually truly is the correct diagnosis but I just didn't know that all of my non-attention based symptoms stemmed from it. Now that I know the actual words, it helps with my search to find a more suitable psychiatrist who is ACTUALLY specialized in this field, and doesn't just list adhd under their general "patients we work with" section, yet only knows about the inattentive symptoms and not the emotional dysfunction too. Need real help, not just pills.

[@publius9350]

My father was diagnosed bipolar, and Dr. Ned Hallowell's father was as well. Hallowell best known for being one of the writers on "Driven to Distraction" and a person who has a bit more belief in ADHD benefits than Barkley. I wonder if Barkley and Hallowell have ever discussed some of the past diagnosed people with bipolar and if the diagnosis is most proper in their opinion. I've seen people in full blown mania, and it's definitely something of its own, but I've also seen issues of mood for a person with ADHD diagnosed as bipolar, when it really was not. I rarely saw anything similar with my father, but I also never knew his exact medical regimen, especially when affected by poverty. It really accentuates a need for reform in differential diagnosis in psychiatry, particular as we learn more about the neurochemistry of thought and neurological structures. So much is limited by the drag of old beliefs, along with old laws, and similar structural drag (which also has some benefit in caution about the new, just not when we once knew so much less). We talk a lot here about differential diagnosis with the current DSM - but it's also worth noting if that's quite what the last DSM editions stated, particularly on questions like rapid cycling.

[@wowwee0]

Great video as always. I am going through a third ADHD assessment (long story! I need to do it to get access to full healthcare/medication adjustments) and I still question whether I really have ADHD or not. I always thought I might have Borderline Personality Disorder, but my reactions do not seem as extreme as some (i.e. never in trouble with the law). Would you be able to make a similar video for BPD?

[@Firelianas]

Fantastic video on a much needed topic, Russ! I have often seen providers in public behavioral health settings struggle with the ADHD and Bipolar differential diagnosis. I had many adult counseling clients (especially women or those with a comorbid affective disorder) who met diagnostic criteria for ADHD but were given a bipolar diagnosis after their 15-25 minute intake psych eval. When I would meet these patients for their first counseling sessions - often their story reflected the lifelong challenges of someone with ADHD. WIth such short psych evals, patients often lack an opportunity to discuss their childhood challenges - riddled with difficulty inhibiting behaviors, poor school performance, and being socially rejected by peers among others often seen with ADHD. From my understanding - a neurodevelopmental disorder like ADHD presents earlier than bipolar disorder. So a characteristically ADHD childhood was often an indicator I used to tell providers that the client needed to be reevaluated. Often these were adults who had been struggling to revive any kind of helpful treatment or supports, or had been seeking a proper diagnosis for years.

[@zeddeka]

There's research now saying that bi polar, autism and schizophrenia share genetic roots. They found in particular that people who are bi polar are more likely to also have autistic traits and those who are autistic are more likely to have bi polar traits. Of course, we know that ADHD is often comorbid with autism.

[@alwaysgambaru]

Thank you Dr. Barkley for this video. I have Bipolar disorder, but there has been the query for a number of years as to whether I have ADHD as well, given that, during periods of stability, there have been symptoms which remain present, those which overlap between the two disorders. I look forward to the upcoming videos.

[@SN-sz7kw]

So interesting. Female with late ADHD diagnosis in my 50’s. I had forgotten about a psychiatrist I saw in my 30’s for depression/anxiety. He tried to convince me I was experiencing “mini” bipolar cycles. But it didn’t make sense - I had none of the “frenzied” symptoms or feelings of grandiosity. I rejected his explanation and now know what I had was the battle btw ADHD paralysis and hyper-focus. God, so much time & energy spent trying to figure things out. 😠

[@mariamott]

Excellent

[@Cerbera66]

Isn't it the case anyway that many ADHD patients - especially those recognised late - have a high probability of being depressed?

[@EliseSecond]

Okay, this is fascinating. I've had wondered if I'm bipolar and I've had someone talk about it to me who has it them self wondering if I got it. I do have a lot of ADHD in the family and it's definitely been suggested multiple times in my life that I might have it. Due to youth trauma and other factors it's difficult to get it diagnosed properly. In the past I tried meds like methyfinadate but that didn't work at all. So I figured I'm not ADHD. Common mistake to think this I learned later. Lately I've been wondering if I should get a diagnose anyway since I do have so much of it and a family member who has it sees a lot of the same things he has in me. This information about bipolar definitly adds to me thinking I should.

[@Patrickjwalsh1976]

Who’s watching this 1.5x speed?

[@paulbolton2322]

Well reminded ❄️👍😂