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Originally Posted by strawberrysc  I have been recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder and am really confused about it. I have OCD and generalized anxiety disorder and have always been told that my anxiety is part of my OCD and GAD. I had no clue that anxiety could be a symptom of mania. I ended up going to the hospital because my anxiety was so bad and it was making me throw up and not be able to breathe very well and I hadn't slept in three days. I have really bad insomnia and rarely sleep very much and no drug on Earth makes me even remotely tired. When I was at the hospital the psychiatrist on call told me that the anxiety that I was having was not due to my OCD and GAD but that I was actually having a mixed episode. He said that's why I couldn't sleep as well. It's just confusing to me because I always thought mania involved grandiose behavior. I am the most cautious and level-headed person ever and just fill like the diagnosis doesn't fit. After I got out of the hospital I met with my psychiatrist and she told me that she had suspected all along that the anxiety was a form of mania and was glad that someone else confirmed the diagnosis. Does anyone know if intense anxiety like this and bad insomnia can be bipolar in nature? Please help. Thanks...... |
I have BPI and can tell you that anxiety is a symptom of mania.
In fact, whenever I'm manic, I experience anxiety myself for which I take Klonopin.
When I was manic two weeks ago I felt like I was having a heart attack.
I also had a feeling of impending doom. This is when my therapist said I had a panic attack and explained that it was due to my manic episode.
I've also had anxiety whenever I've had a mixed episode although it was never as bad as it was 2 weeks ago.
The anxiety I had at that time was so severe that I ended up taking a higher PRN dose of my sleep med along with
2 Klonopin (with my psychiatrist's permission) in order to knock myself out. I slept from Saturday afternoon until Sunday evening. When I woke up, I felt much better.
Yesterday my new tdoc taught me breathing techniques I can use whenever I have an anxiety attack. He told me whenever I feel anxious, I should tell myself "I feel anxious right now, but I can handle this." If I don't know what I'm anxious about, I am supposed to tell myself "I don't know what I am anxious about, but that's okay. I can work through this and everything will be okay."
He suggested that I slowly exhale all of the air out of my lungs, inhale deeply and then hold my breath for 2 seconds before letting it out again. I am to do this twice and repeat if necessary.
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