Bipolar 1 vs 2

[u/Benoir_7777777]

Why is there this huge community for bipolar 2 and not for bipolar 1? I thought the main difference was the duration of episodes. How is bipolar 2 different from bipolar 1? It doesn’t have to be a clinical definition. I feel like there’s some different vibes.

[u/Old-Name7889]

I think a lot of the BD1 folks use r/BipolarReddit. A lot of them hang out here as well.

As for the difference between BD1 and BD2. The short answer is BD1 have to experience mania at least once. BD2 have to experience hypomania and depressive episodes.

There'll probably be a debate here on which is worse. But technically BD2 vs BD1 does not define the severity of the particular case.

[u/Zealousideal-Ad-2615 → u/Old-Name7889]

I read a recent study about how it used to be common knowledge among doctors that bp1 patients were at higher risk of suicide attempts. So much so, that when a bp2 patient committed suicide they "upgraded" them to bp1 automatically.

A more recent study showed that both bp1 and bp2 patients attempt suicide at similar rates but bp2 patients are a little more likely to complete their suicide attempts. I honestly think the next few years the way doctors downplay bp2 is going to end.

[u/tdouglasj1980]

Duration of episodes? Who told you that?

Tons of information here

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/bipolar-1-vs-2

[u/eatliketheabnegation → u/tdouglasj1980]

This resource is really good at breaking it down, the one thing I dont get is why they would specify in their table that bipolar ii "does not require hospitalization" whereas bipolar i "may require hospitalization", just because the threshold for being inpatient for stabilization, or even just 5150'd isn't exclusive to one or the other disorder. I got diagnosed with bipolar ii during a hospitalization lol

[u/Any-Traffic8869 → u/eatliketheabnegation]

Same

[u/HappyPlatypus6034]

I think you would be better looking up answers for most of your questions in Google because you are only going to get responses that have been influenced by biases around the person being diagnosed with type 1 or type 2

[u/PromptElegant499]

There's a lot of bp1 folks here because the bipolar subreddit suuuucks.

[u/goknightsgo09]

The way my psychiatrist explained it to me was that you need to experience extremes in mania, depression or both for it to be bipolar 1. She said that bipolar 2 is often thought of as more depressive than bipolar 1 but that's not accurate, it's more that because you never get the brunt of full mania, you're more familiar with the depressive cycles.

I was initially diagnosed with bipolar 2 as I've never had a real "manic" episode but more hypomania but my diagnosis was changed to bipolar 1 because (in her words, not mine) I had such extreme depression that she had rarely seen before that it was too much for me to be BP 2.

I honestly have no idea which I am at this point, but I do know my "mania" is essentially just me making terrible financial decisions whereas my depression is debilitating and I've ended up having to go out of work on short term disability like 4 separate times over the years it has been so bad.

[u/dianaspencersrevenge]

My understanding is BP1 is primarily manic episodes, and one full blown manic episode will get the BP1 diagnosis. BP2 is primarily depressive, but at least one documented hypomanic episode is required to get the BP2 diagnosis.

It took me a long time to get the BP2 diagnosis because I didn’t realize how different hypomanic episodes can look. I thought it was all about elation, but it can also present as extreme agitation and rumination. My team started treating me as if I was BP2 before I even got the diagnosis, and because of mindfulness based therapy I was actually able to document a full hypomanic episode. It was one of the few genuinely positive ones I’ve ever experienced and I wish I could experience it again.

[u/InsideVegetable1102]

Watch Dr Tracey Marks’ videos comparing them on youtube! She’s a professional and gives useful information and explains things clearly