Q. I'm in the middle of getting my mental health assessed for a diagnosis. I have doctors suggesting bipolar & I have a psychiatrist suggesting ADHD with trauma leading to a personality disorder. How do you differentiate mania vs hyper activity?
Doctor Answer is medically reviewed by SecondMedic medical review team.
Differentiating mania from hyperactivity can be tricky, as both involve high levels of energy and activity. Generally, however, mania is a sign of bipolar disorder and involves intense emotional highs that are often exacerbated by increased energy and hyperactivity. The person may talk constantly in an excited manner, switch topics quickly and become easily distracted. They may also have difficulty sleeping or need less sleep than usual.
Hyperactivity is more common in people with ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactive disorder). These individuals tend to display behaviors such as excessive talking, being easily distractible, fidgeting and having difficulties staying on task or sitting still for long periods of time. Unlike manic episodes associated with bipolar disorder which usually last days or weeks at a time, symptoms associated with ADHD are usually consistent over multiple months if not years or decades.
It's important to remember that diagnostic classifications are made after careful consideration has been taken into account including observations by family members and friends as well biological factors such as brainwave patterns via EEGs or QEEGs (quantitative electroencephalogram) tests amongst other sources of data gathering before arriving at any diagnosis let alone differentiating one disorder from another.
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