Other Conditions With Symptoms Similar to Child and Teen Bipolar Disorder

Several conditions have symptoms similar to Reference bipolar disorder Opens New Window in children and teens. At first, symptoms may be so similar that your child can be misdiagnosed with another condition when, in fact, your child has bipolar disorder. But bipolar disorder is a condition with distinct features that a doctor can separately diagnose with a proper evaluation.

Disorders that might at first have symptoms similar to child and teen bipolar disorder include:

• Reference Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) Opens New Window, a behavioral condition in which people have trouble paying attention, may be more active than normal, and tend to act without thinking.
• Reference Conduct disorder Opens New Window, a child or teen disorder that involves defiant behavior, such as violating social rules or hurting other people.
• Reference Substance abuse problems Opens New Window, repeated use of alcohol or drugs even though this use causes unpleasant or distressing events in the user's life.
• Reference Depression Opens New Window, an illness that causes a person to feel sad and hopeless for much of the time.
• Reference Schizophrenia Opens New Window, a severe brain illness that, without treatment, interferes with the ability to think clearly, manage emotions, and interact with other people. It causes symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, and disorganized thinking.
• Reference Anxiety disorders Opens New Window, a type of mental illness that includes severe anxiety that interferes with a person's life.
• Overactive thyroid (Reference hyperthyroidism Opens New Window), which can sometimes cause symptoms of mania (such as excitability or being overly energetic).
• Neurological problems. These conditions can include:
  • Head injuries, which can have effects that last weeks, months or in some cases, a lifetime.
  • Reference Pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) Opens New Window, a group of disorders characterized by delays in the development of social and communication skills. Examples include autism, Rett's disorder, and Asperger's syndrome.
  • Reference Multiple sclerosis Opens New Window, a chronic neurological disease of the central nervous system, specifically involving the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves.
  • Reference Stroke Opens New Window. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel (artery) that supplies blood to the brain bursts or is blocked by a blood clot.
  • Reference Seizure Opens New Window disorders. Seizures are sudden bursts of abnormal electrical activity in the brain that may affect a person's muscle control, movement, speech, vision, or awareness (consciousness).

ADHD, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, and conduct disorder may also occur along with bipolar disorder.

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