What is the difference between bipolar/manic and psychotic?
I have a daughter who is severly bipolar. One of my friends has referred to her as psychotic. Is psychosis part of the makeup of being bipolar?
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Some people with bi-polar disorder experience psychosis, some more than others. Then there are some that are diagnosed like I am and theirs is actually called Bi-Polar Manic Depression with psychotic features. It seems to be that I have a tednency to be more violent in either state (manic or depressed) than most other bi-polar people. Of course medication helps, but it never completely goes away. But since I can be very violent and since I am almost all the time, then I am also consider to be psychotic. What has happened to make people think your daughter is psychotic? Sometimes too, people just make assumptions about others with a mental illness. This can be because they are ingorant to the cause and symptoms of the disorder, or because they just flat out refuse to learn anything about it. Being mentally ill brings about a whole new form of stigmata with the so called "normal" people in the world. My question to the world would be what is "normal," and who gets to decide what "normal" is? I would say that if you daughter hasn’t been diagnosed as psychotic by her doctor, she isn’t, although she still may go through periods of psychosis, and there is a difference between the two.
Sometimes Bipolar people who are severely manic will experience symptoms of pyschosis. These symptoms may include visual and auditory hallucinations.
Not all Bipolar people experience this. Usually this happens with uncontrolled highs and in Bipolar I patients who are not on meds.
Your friend is incorrect. Being Bipolar does not mean that one is psychotic.
A psychotic episode is different from being bi-polar. Some people who are not educated think they are interchangeable terms.
It could be, you should try to find out exactly what her diagnosis is because a full diagnosis would include specifiers like mild, moderate , severe with psychotic features or severe without psychotic features. If you want to learn more about the diagnosis google "DSM IV-TR Biploar disorder". Psychosis generally refers to hallucinations or delusions but the definition could also include disorganized speech, grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior (moving all over the place or staying in one position for a really really long time) – basically the sense of reality is not intact.
The person who made this diagnosis is leaving out information or is not fully aware of the symptoms your daughter is expereincing.
The people who answered this question before me unfortunatley are incorrect
Your ‘friend’ is wrong… a person with a psychosis, is and can be dangerous…because usually they have no conscience…a person with bipolar has ups and downs…psychotic behavior can be dangerous, and hallucinogenic…which I doubt your daughter is..
This might be helpful
http://sensitive-psychoworld.blogspot.com/