which of the criteria do you think most differentiates the two disorders?
Bipolar is more of the manic phases, where ADHD is more hyper activity.
*ADHD vs. Bipolar Disorder
The primary difficulty for those with Bipolar Disorder is with mood regulation. Both disorders tend to run in families.
Some symptoms of ADHD include:
• Poor follow-through
• Poor listening skills
• Task avoidance
• Disorganized
• Inconsistent
• Easily overwhelmed
• trouble changing activities
• poor eye contact
• Forgetfulness
• Fidgetiness
• Annoys others easily
• Interrupts others
• Often acts as if he or she is being driven by a motor
• Rejection from peers and adults
• Trouble thinking before they act – live in the “now”
• Difficulty falling or staying asleep
Some symptoms of early onset of Bipolar Disorder include:
• Temper tantrums generally triggered by limit-setting (i.e., a parental "NO") and conflict with authority figures
• Oppositional
• Mood swings
• Racing thoughts
• Aggressive behavior
• daredevil acts
• Pressured Speech
• Prolonged Rages
• Grandiose thinking
• Depressed or elevated mood
• oversensitivity to emotional or environmental triggers
• Lethargy
• Difficulty getting out of bed
• Social anxiety
• Hyper sexuality
• Decreased need for sleep
• suicidality with plan or intent
Symptoms that are seen in both ADHD and Bipolar disorder, but with subtle differences include:
• Hyperactivity
• Distractibility
• mood instability
• oversensitive to stimulation
• overreaction to stress
• irritability
• Impulsive
• Low Self-Esteem
Treatment: Stimulants are the primary treatment for those with ADHD while Mood Stabilizers are the primary treatment for Bipolar disorder. For those with both disorders it is important to note that mood stabilizers don’t seem to make ADHD worse, but stimulant medicines (and antidepressants) can make bipolar disorder worse. However, stimulants and mood stabilizers can be used simultaneously in many cases for those with both disorders.
The main difference between the two disorders appears to be the grandiosity and the elated mood seen in Bipolar disorder, which does not appear in ADHD. What makes diagnosis even harder is the overlap between the symptoms and the fact that 50 to 80% of those with bipolar disorder also have ADHD.
*These Mental Disorders ARE Genetic
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