10 Diagnoses that Mimic or Co-Occur with Bipolar Disorder

It is worthwhile to note there are disorders that mimic or co-occur with Bipolar Disorder. Anxiety, substance abuse (dual diagnosis), Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), thyroid imbalances, as well as pituitary disorders can all resemble and complicate the diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder.

When I was first diagnosed, I was diagnosed Schizophrenic. Attending a day treatment program, I was treated in group therapy with the wisdom of the day, which stated that Schizophrenia was due to poor parenting. I was harangued daily by the group therapist about my dysfunctional relationship with my father. There was only one problem; I didn’t have a dysfunctional relationship with my father. I couldn’t get with the treatment.

Several years later, when I was diagnosed bipolar, I was told the illness was caused by a chemical imbalance. At last, an explanation that made sense. The idea was freeing to me. No one, including my father, was to blame. It was about biochemistry, not poor parenting. I felt relieved. A diagnosis that shared symptoms with another illness was at the root of the problem. The correct diagnosis made way for effective treatment and a return of mental health.

10 Diagnoses that Mimic or Co-Occur with Bipolar Disorder

Noted here are some of the conditions or illnesses most likely to mimic or co-occur with bipolar disorder.

• A component of many depressive disorders, anxiety, often accompanies depression and can even be present equally. Sometimes described as “agitated depression,” it can surface either independently or mislabeled as mania.

• ADD or ADHD symptoms can be experienced as a lack of focus and agitation, mimicking a manic or hypo manic state. The differential diagnosis information of the DSM must be studied to differentiate between a chemical-behavioral imbalance versus a mood disorder. ADD is an example of brain-wiring, while mood disorder is an example of chemical imbalance.

• Substance abuse also can mask symptoms of Bipolar Disorder and only comes to light when substance abuse is treated. As the abuse is recognized as self-medicating behavior, the true diagnosis of mania is revealed.

• On the biological front, there are several illnesses which can be confused with Bipolar Disorder. One is a thyroid condition. Both depression and symptoms of hypo-mania can be due to synthroid imbalances which can be successfully treated. Pituitary gland disorders can also produce depressive or manic symptoms. One of these disorders, Cushing’s Disease parallels depression due to a lack of Cortisol, a necessary, regulatory chemical of the nervous and endocrine systems, impeded by a tumor on the Pituitary Gland. These physically deficient, biological illnesses can come to light in a physical examination, something which should be done at the beginning of evaluation for all mental disorders.

• Psychotic symptoms of mania can be misunderstood to be Schizophrenia or Schizoaffective Disorder. Unlike Bipolar Disorder which can produce delusional behavior only in the presence of a mood disorder, Schizoaffective Disorder has both cognitive and mood distortions equally present at all times. Schizophrenia, on the other hand, is a cognitive or “thought” disorder which is presented as independent of any co-occurring mood disorder.