I was curious about this because I have met many people who were diagnosed with bipolar or schizoaffective bipolar type based on depression.
I have sza and suffered severe depression but they diagnosed me bipolar at first bcuz I had hypomania as well. I don’t get hypomania as often as depression but it’s still a possibility. I tend to get mixed moods a lot too - high energy lows.
I was diagnosed sz for quite some years but my present pdoc changed it when it was clear my mood swings were a big part of my illness. It makes more sense now.
I notice here they don’t focus on labels much, I have learned over the years I’m SZA, When I get depression it lasts for 2 years or so and comes for no reason. Depression for me seemed to alway stick out over other stuff, in the beginning years ago it was the only thing treated
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I started off with depression and was diagnosed manic depressive. You need positive symptoms to have sz/sz aff diagnosis. I got that 5 years later when I went psychotic but even way back when…my depression had paranoid overtones!
Last time I received a diagnosis I was diagnosed schizoaffective. Before that it was schizophrenia. I think psychiatrists can diagnose a person with anything they see or feel a person exhibits symptoms of.
I always thought you had to have hallucinations to be schizoaffective like me.
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