Bipolar Disorder vs Major Depression: What's the Difference?

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A study has found that psychiatrists often misdiagnose bipolar disorder with major depressive disorder (MDD), since the two are very similar. The study was conducted by Charles Bowden and his collegues from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. It was published in the Journal of Preteome Research, reports Medical Xpress.

The researchers of the study found that the tools used to diagnose mood disorders can often be subjective and misleading. As a result, they tried to find a more reliable way to diagnose mood disorders.  

According to Bowden, up to 40 percent of patients are misdiagnosed and the mistake can take years to correct. Meanwhile, Swanson, one of the researchers in the study, told WebMD: "Our findings suggest that about one-third of people with major depression have  [undiagnosed bipolar disorder.]"

The main problem is that people with bipolar disorder also exhibit symptoms of MDD. WebMD explains that patients who are bipolar may feel extreme sadness and lose their motivation to function normally one day, and feel unstoppable, creative, and inspired the next. 

On their low days, bipolar patients really do experience symptoms of MDD, which include feelings of guilt or  worthlessness, fatigue or loss of energy, and even thoughts of suicide or death. 

MDD patients will experience the same symptoms over and over again, but bipolar patients will have periods in which they do not feel depressed, but rather inspired. According to Psych Central, during their manic phases, bipolar patients may feel inflated self-esteem, need little or no need for sleep, and intensely inspired to finish their goals. 

Science World Reports explains that since only an estimated 1 percent of the population suffers with Bipolar disorder, physicians do not fully perceive symptoms of mania. Bipolar disorder is hard to diagnose because the symptoms are usually extreme opposites. 

Researchers of the study believe that psychiatrists often mistake bipolar disorder with MDD because they are not seeing the full picture. In addition, the tool used to diagnose mood disorders is very unreliable and may contribute to the problem.

Basically, to diagnose mood disorders doctors just interview the patient. Interviews may work with linear mood disorders, like MDD, but people with bipolar disorder usually feel extreme emotions at different periods of time. 

Fortunately, Bowden and his colleagues identified five factors to help correctly diagnose bipolar disorder. The factors include: history of mania in the family, history of at least two mood episodes, symptoms of the disorder before age 30, extreme mood swings, and simultaneaous feelings of mania and depression.