Bipolar vs Schizoaffective disorder

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What’s the difference between bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder?

Is it that with schizoaffective disorder your mood changes cause delusions?

I think I have a mood disorder, but I also had a psychotic break in 2014, which I believed to be caused by autistic thinking combined with extreme stress and Adderall. My psychologist told me one time that once you ring that bell you can’t unring it. Could this mean that I’ve moved onto schizoaffective disorder?

Anyway, I haven’t been diagnosed with schizoaffective, but I’m heading back into therapy to get drugs for my mood.

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I’ve been diagnosed with both at different times.
Many times they are very similar especially if one has schizoaffective disorder bipolar type.

The differences are that with schizoaffective you can experience psychosis outside of a mood episode and with bipolar your psychosis occurs only when your manic, mixed or depressed.

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Thank you @Wave. That’s really helpful. Do both normally require an AP?

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Yes both schizoaffective disorder and bipolar with psychotic features usually require treatment with antipsychotics.

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Thanks for your reply @Wave

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I think its bipolar if mood issues are more predominant over psychosis issues.

Also some bipolars dont get psychosis

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with bipolar you can get psychotic because of the mood change and with sza you can have psychosis not related to the mood shifts.

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