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The Physician’s Guide for Distinguishing Bipolar Disorder and ADHD

Approximately 20 percent of people with ADHD also suffer from bipolar disorder, a serious mental illness characterized by depressive and manic episodes. Since both conditions share symptoms, but ADHD is more common, bipolar disorder is often missed or misdiagnosed. Use this guide — from clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School, Roberto Olivardia, Ph.D. — to tell the symptoms of ADHD vs. bipolar apart.

5 Comments: The Physician’s Guide for Distinguishing Bipolar Disorder and ADHD

  1. “Approximately 60 to 70 percent of people with bipolar disorder also have ADHD. What’s more, 20 percent of people with ADHD have bipolar disorder.” – Please site where this information came from. I can’t find anything to back this up. This is a major claim with no sources…

  2. Kudos to the author of the above article. It is an excellent explanation of ‘comorbid’ mental health quality control defects, BP2 and ADD or ADHD.

    I am a dude in my pre-geezer years. Only 2 years ago I was diagnosed with BP2 disease. Then just last year I was found guilty of possession of ADD (no Hyperactivity, dammit!).

    Please …. don’t tell me what a ‘gift’ this is. This is no ****ing gift! These two afflictions have always been a handicap and an embarrassment. It has ruined many friendships and gotten me into trouble at work.

    I AM seeing a psych professional and I AM following the treatment plan but I cannot get over my anger over a condition that the 97.4% of normal people don’t have. That’s 2 out of 3 and that’s the best I can do at this time. I will never go public or reveal my real name.

    So, thank you, ADDitude magazine for being my friend and consigliere.

  3. I was actually misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder when in fact I am autistic. The United States if very far behind in diagnosing autism in women and girls, and even for males, the stereotype of autism is not based on interviews with actually autistic people. Is the chid or adult really in a “limbic rage”? Or is it an autistic meltdown? Is the child or adult really in a depression? Or are they suffering from an autistic shutdown caused by burnout from sensory overload? I like how this article distinguishes the contextual nature of ADHD symptoms from those of bipolar disorder, but it is now time to focus on differential diagnosis of bipolar disorder and autism in teens and adults. And to do this, practitioners MUST collaborate with autistic people ourselves. Autistic burnout, shutdown, and meltdown are also triggered by context–but there are contexts that a neurotypical person might not even think about, hence the need for collaborative work. Feel free to contact me.

  4. The main problem with this article is that it does not help distinguish between BPAD and borderline personality disorder/traits. The idea that 60 to 70 people with BPAD have ADHD seems to be a bit true-believer-ish to me, too.

    Also, the whole thing could be better structured.

  5. This is a useful resource for identifying symptoms. I’m curious where you found the information suggesting that children with bipolar disorder display conduct disorder behaviors?

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