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Psych Students Help
Posted: 10/27/2003, 12:25 am
by I AM ME
I know there's a few of you guys around.
What's the diffrence between: Bi-Polar, Manic-Depressive, and Normal Depressive?
Posted: 10/27/2003, 6:48 am
by Axtech
I have some educated guesses, but I'll wait for someone who knows what they're talking about...
Posted: 10/27/2003, 7:55 am
by happening fish
well for one thing, manic depressive and bipolar are the same thing. as opposed to normal depression, manic depression causes you to be extremely volatile - sometimes you are unnaturally happy, but the slightest thing can plunge you into depression. regular depression is more of an ongoing sadness.
Ok boots, time to correct me!
Posted: 10/27/2003, 8:27 am
by superrgirll
we haven't gotten to that section in psych class yet.
Posted: 10/27/2003, 8:29 am
by superboots
bi-polar is the technical term for manic depressive. there are two types of bi-polar disorder, bi-polar I and bi-polar II. Bi-polar I disorder has to have a manic period followed by a depressed period, and bi-polar II has to have a hypomanic period, which is characterized by a less severe manic episode, followed by a depressed episode
clinical depression is when you are depressed for more than two weeks. Depression has to do with feelings of sadness, worthlessness, irritability, changes in sleeping, eating, possible thoughts of suicide, etc.
hope that helps. if you have any more questions, let me or rob know, we're both psychology majors....but chances are, I'd be able to answer your question before rob could.

*waits for rob to yell at me*
Posted: 10/27/2003, 1:53 pm
by Dr. Hobo
hmmm cool i was right when i typed it all out and didnt bother hitting "quick reply" then
altho mine wasnt as detailed..
.. but heres another way to look at manic depression.. its like a yo-yo.. your high one second and down the next.. mmmm mood stabalizers

Posted: 10/27/2003, 1:57 pm
by superboots
they were thinking about putting me on some of that stuff but they weren't sure if i was bi polar or not.
Posted: 10/27/2003, 2:09 pm
by Dr. Hobo
im not quite bi-polar
i have/had a lot of symptoms of bi-polarism but my highs werent "high enough"
i'd go from happy to suicidially depressed.. but my happy times werent considered to be manic .. so i was diagnosed with clinical depression w/ suicidial and schitzo tendencies and somewhat bi-polar

Posted: 10/27/2003, 2:13 pm
by superboots
why didn't they just diagnose you as having bi-polar II? because the manic periods are hypomanic, they are not as extreme as manic
Posted: 10/27/2003, 2:13 pm
by Dr. Hobo
i dunno
i didnt fully fit into either category apparently
Posted: 10/27/2003, 2:14 pm
by superboots
oh, i see
Posted: 10/27/2003, 2:15 pm
by superboots
i would like to see what they actually diagnosed me with. Like the exact definition. it would be interesting to know.
Posted: 10/27/2003, 2:18 pm
by happening fish
Why don't you ask? Surely you're allowed to know?

Posted: 10/27/2003, 2:35 pm
by superboots
yeah i bet i could ask
i'm assuming they diagnosed me as having clinical depression and social anxiety
Posted: 10/27/2003, 3:56 pm
by I AM ME
yeah i'm in psychology right now, just high school though and i was wondering
How hard is Psych in University?
Posted: 10/27/2003, 4:22 pm
by superboots
depends on where you go
my school is excellent for psychology. we're the second best undergrad psych program in the country (USA). So it's a little more tough than other universities.
A lot of people say that psychology is very easy, but that's if you're just taking psychology during undergrad, with no hopes of going to graduate school and becoming a psychologist. If you actually want to do something with your degree you have to at least get a masters (two years more after undergrad), and it is extremely difficult to get into psych grad school. You have to get involved in research and work a lot harder, so it's not as easy as they say
Posted: 10/27/2003, 10:17 pm
by I AM ME
yeah i'm considering it as an option, i'm not sure whether i'm willing to put all the years of study into it though. So far though i'm extremely interested in it
Posted: 10/27/2003, 10:29 pm
by areusad831
yea what bethany said
many think bi-polar is also being over diagnosed now especially in children.
Posted: 10/27/2003, 10:32 pm
by I AM ME
hmmm i'm starting to think i have some form of bi-polar, but maybe not, something close to it, because i can be very very happy go-lucky, but it takes almost nothing to plunge me into a bad depression
Posted: 10/27/2003, 10:33 pm
by superboots
you're probably not bi-polar