Hiya. Nothing beats seeing a proper mental health professional, but there is this questionnaire (that some professionals ask you to fill in for them). It has been carefully validated in large studies as being very reliable in picking up people who are likely to have bipolar disorder. It has deliberately been designed so that it is sensitive and it will suggest screening by a professional of some people who do not eventually turn out to have bipolar disorder. However, if you score low on the cutoffs for the questionnaire it is rather unlikely you have bipolar disorder.

The point of making this available is not to replace face to face consultation with a professional but as a helpful first step and as a tool which can be printed out and taken along to assist at such a discussion.Original reference: Hirschfeld, R.M.A. et al Development and Validation of a Screening Instrument for Bipolar Spectrum Disorder: The Mood Disorder Questionnaire Am J Psychiatry 2000 157: 1873-1875.

http://www.bipolar-foundation.org/index.aspx?o=1227

I've taken it from the Equilibrium - The Bipolar Foundation website, which is international but based at Oxford Uni. (You should check it out http://www.bipolar-foundation.org/ )

KSx