Misdiagnosed with Bipolar: Is it possible for autism to be mistaken?

autistic women/mixed race/queer people are often diagnosed with bipolar before autism, thanks to how diagnostics is systemically built from past (worse) generations. try a neuropsych evaluation if you're able

i was finally diagnosed after a long time of my doctors just labeling it as a undetermined mood disorder. if you feel you were diagnosed too hastily i can understand why you’d be nervous about a misdiagnosis. generally though, people with bipolar are prescribed mood stabilizers and antipsychotics to help with impulsivity, outbursts of emotion, and intense mood swings that can last for a few hours or up to several weeks if not months. if those are the types of symptoms you’re dealing with then even if your diagnosis is incorrect you can still benefit from those medications. not to say that a misdiagnosis with a couple similar symptoms is in any way a substitute for a proper one, but there’s also therapy, which can help regardless of what your diagnosis is. it can also help you determine what your true diagnosis is if you have been misdiagnosed. i would talk more with your therapist more about the symptoms you have and the way you’ve been feeling in order to pinpoint exactly what you have. i wish there was a test that can diagnose mental illnesses and disorders the way physical ones can be. i totally understand being uneasy about your diagnosis especially when your doctors have been so vague about it, so i’m sorry you’re going through this :(

As an autistic person with bipolar type 1, the two disorders are extremely different but when paired together (until you understand your personal body) its hard to tell the difference. However, I find some of the reasons an autistic person would be misdiagnosed with bipolar is the doctor only being able to see things in one context. Not masking when experiencing sensory issues and becoming panicked or angry might make a doctor think its mania. Know your shit and blunt about it? You might be labeled with grandiose self esteem. And masking is making you depressed? Your bipolar. As someone with both I suggest evaluating the criteria and journaling/monitoring any symptoms of the two and then trying to figure out where they are coming from. Doctors have a severe lack of understanding of bipolar, especially on mania. Bipolar has episodes of different degrees that is produced by a lithium imbalance and can be impacted by strong life events. Autism isnt like that at all. And once you become more conscious about your autistic traits youll beable to see if there are any episodic nature to your life that fits the criteria for mania and depression.

I’m sorry you got such unclear information. In my experience getting a true diagnosis is really hard. It took me a really long time to get a Bipolar and ADHD diagnosis. I believe I also have autism but have no diagnosis of that. I think it’s possible to mix up a lot of conditions