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The online bipolar disorder screening test – Do I have Bipolar disorder ?


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Bipolar disorder is a mental illness characterized by periods if extremely “up,” elated, and energized behaviour (known as manic episodes) to very sad, “down,” or hopeless periods (known as depressive episodes). Less severe manic periods are known as hypo-manic episodes.

A common misconception is that these episodes last only a few hours to minutes. In reality, a depressive episode lasts anywhere from 6 months to 2 years and a manic (or hypo-manic) episodes can last several months. These need not be alternate, two consecutive manic episodes will also be diagnosed as bipolar disorder. A few people may also suffer “mixed” affective states, with an overlap of depressive and manic features.

Take the mood disorder questionnaire to screen for bipolar disorder. Clinical trials have indicated that the MDQ has a high rate of accuracy; it isable to identify seven out of ten people who have bipolar disorder and screen out nine out of tenpeople who do not. If this test suggests bipolarity please seek help from a qualified mental health professional.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:This instrument was developed by a committee composed of the following individuals: Chairman, Robert M.A. Hirschfeld, MD – University of Texas Medical Branch; Joseph R. Calabrese, MD – Case Western Reserve School of Medicine; Laurie Flynn – National Alliance for the Mentally Ill; Paul E. Keck, Jr., MD – University of Cincinnati College ofMedicine; Lydia Lewis – National Depressive and Manic-Depressive Association; Robert M. Post, MD – National Institute ofMental Health; Gary S. Sachs, MD – Harvard University School of Medicine; Robert L. Spitzer, MD – Columbia University; Janet Williams, DSW – Columbia University and John M. Zajecka, MD – Rush Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center.

The test consists of 15 questions, it should not take over 5 minutes to complete.

 

 

Required fields are marked *

1.Has there ever been a period of time when you were not your usual self and you felt so good or so hyper that other people thought you were not your normal self or you were so hyper that you got into trouble? *
2.Has there ever been a period of time when you were not your usual self and you were so irritable that you shouted at people or started fights or arguments? *
3.Has there ever been a period of time when you were not your usual self and you felt much more self-confident than usual? *
4.Has there ever been a period of time when you were not your usual self and you got much less sleep than usual and found you didn’t really miss it? *
5.Has there ever been a period of time when you were not your usual self and you were much more talkative or spoke much faster than usual? *
6.Has there ever been a period of time when you were not your usual self and thoughts raced through your head or you couldn’t slow your mind down? *
7.Has there ever been a period of time when you were not your usual self and you were so easily distracted by things around you that you had trouble concentrating or staying on track? *
8.Has there ever been a period of time when you were not your usual self and you had much more energy than usual? *
9.Has there ever been a period of time when you were not your usual self and you were much more active or did many more things than usual? *
10.Has there ever been a period of time when you were not your usual self and you were much more social or outgoing than usual, for example, you telephoned friends in the middle of the night? *
11.Has there ever been a period of time when you were not your usual self and you were much more interested in sex than usual? *
12.Has there ever been a period of time when you were not your usual self and you did things that were unusual for you or that other people might have thought were excessive, foolish, or risky? *
13.Has there ever been a period of time when you were not your usual self and spending money got you or your family into trouble? *
14.If you checked YES to more than one of the above, have several of these ever happened during the same period of time? *
15.How much of a problem did any of these cause you – like being unable to work; having family, money or legal troubles; getting into arguments or fights? *