The fastest diagnosis of bipolar disorder can happen when a person has a sudden break into severe mania - bad enough to be hospitalized. Even then, other conditions will have to be ruled out first. Is the patient having a bad reaction to a prescription medications? Does he use illegal drugs? Is there a brain injury or tumor?
Other questions include whether the patient has a history of behavior that would indicate schizophrenia or a similar illness, or of clinical depression. They must be...
