Depression
 

I have been depressed lately, I know I have no good reason to feel this way, I am depressed. I have a wonderful wife, an old truck to play with, and some good friends. My Shrink just changed my meds, she thinks that I am Bi-Polar. Sometimes I get all sparked up and will work on my stuff, and clean my house till it shines. I don't know whats wrong with me.
My friends believe that when I went from $75,000.00 a year to nothing this may have caused it. My Psychiatrist believes that this has always been there, I haven't noticed it till now. What do you think?

The big sign of bipolar is a period of depression or lethargy followed by an equally long period of mania or energy. I doubt your money issue would have caused it, but it certainly could have aggravated it enough to make it noticeable; in other words making the extremes a little more extreme or the cycling between phases a little quicker. Other things can do that too; drugs, mold, food intolerance, weather or other health issues even.

I read that and thought "shit, that's me'......does that make me bi-polar, or a hypochondriac?

I don't think nothing.

But if I were to channel Peter D. Kramer (author of "Listening to Prozac" and "Against Depression," I would say that personality traits like this exist on a spectrum. Everybody has elements of them and they come out at different places on the spectrum. Whether something is a "disorder" or not, i.e. it's too far to the edge of the spectrum to be considered "normal", is to a certain extent arbitrary and/or socially constructed.

I would be more likely to suggest that these tendencies were always there and that they have recently gotten more exaggerated, and therefore possibly more problematic. That's not quite the same as saying, it was always there and you didn't notice it.

"...spectrum..."

Precisely what I was thinking. Losing a good job could push you out to the edges of your personal behavior variance. Good luck man.

Good points SD and Griff.

Hang in there fargon. Sounds lame, but things do happen for a reason. A path will appear where you never expected it.

Thank you all for your words I am currently starting a research project, on the subject of depression, and Bi-Polar disorder. I want to know as much as the Doctors I am dealing with. Any references you guys can point me to would be appreciated.

fargon, I know exactly what you are going through. I am 23 and I have battled depression since my early teens. I always thought something was wrong with me and that I would never be right. About a year or so ago I was diagnosed with PCOS, a disease common in women. (I know this has nothing to do with you since you are a man). One thing that goes with it is depression, which is often misdiagnosed as Bipolar Disorder. There are days when I am at my ultimate low, and then 2 days later be happy as a lark.

I am sorry you have to go through this. I know it makes my life very difficult as well as my husband's. He doesn't understand because he's never went through it.

Try to keep your head up! You might also try to keep a journal...I know it sounds cliche, but it really does help me.