Last week Psychology Today posted Bipolar Disorder: How to Get Correctly Diagnosed, my interview with Monica Starkman, M.D. about Prozac Monologues: A Voice from the Edge. Its tag says, The average of seven years to receive accurate diagnosis is unacceptably high.
Damn straight it is! The article is about how to improve that rate, or at least to improve the odds for the people who follow its suggestions.
This popular journal chose to place the article in its Essential Reads section on its bipolar resource page. The article's key points include:- Bipolar disorder, particularly Type II, is often misdiagnosed.
- People tend to spend much more time in a depressive state and often do not recognize mild or hypomanic symptoms.
- The chance of getting properly diagnosed is increased by using online screening tools and bringing family/friends to doctor visits.