When Does Adult Onset Bipolar Disorder Start?

My bipolar disorder symptoms started with hypomania at 17. I didn't realize this until I sat down and really thought about my teenage years. This is actually a very common time to have a first mood swing. My ex partner had a lot of depression before he had his first major manic/psychotic episode at 22. That was a terrible time for sure. When I think back of what he told me about college- he was definitely depressed for a long time. He told me he thought about suicide when he was a little kid. He didn't have an episode after that for a long time- then college at 19 and he got depressed and left school. So his first major depression was at age 19- but the minor stuff was already there. I didn't have any depression until I was 19.

If you have bipolar disorder, it's really interesting to write a paragraph about what you remember between the ages of 13-20. What was the first sign you had bipolar and how long did it take from that time for you to get diagnosed?

If you have a child with bipolar disorder, what were their teenage years like?

I had my first hypomania at 17 and was finally diagnosed at 31. Not cool. I wish I had been diagnosed sooner!

Julie

PS: This is all about adult onset bipolar disorder. It's different when a child is younger. They symptoms can be different and many health care professionals are more cautious with treatment.

 

Related posts:
WEB MD article on childhood onset bipolar disorder pt two
WEB MD article on childhood onset bipolar disorder pt one