Boy let me tell you...I wish I had read this years ago. :eyebrow:

I never thought I was depressed more than others cause I wasn't boo hooing in my beer all the time. In fact I wasn't and still am not a cryer...and I don't lay in bed moping for more than a day or two most of the time. So it never seemed to fit...until someone told me...and I read it myself.
No boo hooing...but man was I a beeaatch...most of the time....:eek:

I think that most people feel that way too and it can because us to not reach out for help when we don't feel we fit the sterotypical "pattern" of depression.

For me it was the anger, anxiety, and irritability amongst other things that led me to finally get diagnosed.

I see the symptoms in many of my earlier posts, many of the folks here, especially the newer BP's....

Hope you enjoy the article....:)




Symptoms of Bipolar Depression
From Kimberly Read & Marcia Purse



Difficult Moods

Like the other symptoms of bipolar depression, the difficult moods listed here - irritability, anger, worry/anxiety, pessimism, indifference, and a tendency to be self-critical - may also be present in major depressive disorder. The difference, of course, is that in bipolar disorder there are also episodes of mania or hypomania.

The first three moods here are particularly characteristic of agitated depression.


Irritability

Almost everyone becomes irritable now and then. The reasons are almost without number. A headache, a bad night's sleep, an upcoming dentist appointment, an unexpected bill - any stressor can bring it on. But when there is no apparent reason why the least little thing becomes an annoyance, and the mood persists for days or weeks, look for depression as the cause.



Anger

Anger is irritability pushed to an extreme. In depression, a person may explode over what might otherwise be a mild irritant - or over nothing at all. It may be a brooding anger that comes to a boil over something seemingly harmless. If anger lasts or becomes frightening or violent, seek help for yourself or your loved one as soon as possible.


Worry/Anxiety

This may present in a number of ways. For example, a person may seize on a few daily items and worry obsessively about them. Do I have enough sleeping pills? What will we have for dinner? Did I put gas in the car? Another form is responding to every issue with anxiety. I have to call the plumber - what if he can't come today? I'd better leave early for my appointment in case the traffic is bad. Or it could be a more generalized anxiousness, perhaps accompanied by the racing thoughts that are more commonly associated with mania or hypomania. Anxiety is frequently associated with being indecisive.


Pessimism

Pessimism means taking a negative view of everything. It's going to be another bad day. Nobody likes me. There's no point in applying for that job. In the case of depressive pessimism, the negativity is exaggerated all out of proportion with reality: there's no reason for it to be a bad day, some people do like you, and if you weren't depressed, you might have a good chance of landing the job.


Indifference

Simply put, indifference is not caring. The laundry piles up, the bills aren't paid, and you don't care. A friend calls with a problem, and you can only make polite noises or sit and listen silently, the words not really penetrating your shell of indifference. In depression, it isn't even so much that you don't care as that you can't care.



Self-Critical
Everyone has flaws - but in this mood, your flaws seem magnified and you find flaws that aren't there. "I look tired today" becomes I'm ugly. "I've made a mistake in balancing the checkbook" becomes I'm an idiot with numbers. Forgot to feed the cat? I'm worthless.

If you hear yourself or your bipolar loved one frequently saying overly negative things about him or herself, let it be a warning signal to you that depression is taking over.





**** It's important to know the characteristics of depression so that you can identify them as symptoms of a depressive episode when they occur, whether in yourself or in someone for whom you care or are responsible. Recognizing the symptoms as signs of depression can sometimes help to alleviate them; knowing what to look for means you can seek help that much sooner. ****


Taken from:
www.about.bipolar.com (http://www.about.bipolar.com/)


Take care Cycling Club, new and old! :D

That was nice justhope and yeah I often get diagnosed as manic even though I feel depressed, Irritable, nasty, ragging, snapping, the world gone black feelings are what it makes of it, another part of my cycle is apathy, literally not wanting to do anything at all but lay around and watch television, for weeks at a time.

Great stuff once again, Hope! Your contributions are always enlightening. :)