I hope I can help out a bit. To my knowledge it is hard to always diagnose at such a young age. Anger may be the one main red flag for parents in a manic episode of someone who is BP.  Most parents are not educated enough anf normal teenage problems could be overlooked or not not taken into consideration. In adults BP mania can involve impulses- sexual, financial.  Teenager can be wild, but to what extent. Wild does not mean mania. BP is commonly found in family members of those who have other mental disorders.  I am in my mid thirties and my parents were among the generation that did not seek pychiatric health care, and my mom had depression. Out of 4 children, 3 of us suffer from some mental ilness. Two of us are diagnosed with disorders (anxiety, depression) and in treatment, my other sibling will not deal with being BP.  I am BPII and he is BPI, so each of us deals with a different aspect. No way could you have diagnosed 3/4 children with mental illnesses 2 being BPD. I was diagnosed at 31?? I flew under the radar as do most people until something significant happens in early adult life. So what this means is we are just starting to see a generation of parents (me) who will even acknowlegde BP let alone seek help, for themselves but now be aware of it for children. Child diagnosis must be extremely careful. Not enough education is given to parents who may have children who are BPD. Let me know if you have any more questions.

I cannot answer for others, but I began having symtpoms of Bipolar disorder around 12 years of age.  Then it was called a phase, now I see it for what it really is.  Currently I am on 6 different "happy pills" to help me control my behavior.  I am what is termed a severe cyclier; that is to say without my meds I can swing from depression, to elation, to guilt and back to depressed as many as 9 times in a day.

Bipolar rarely is seen without another underlying problem, mine are ADHD with dyslexia,  anxiety disorder and panic attacks.  As for the commonality of the disorder I have heard 1 in 5 have symptoms of the disorder and it usually sets in during the teen years and is misdiagonsed until something tramaic occures in the adult years.  Again mine was a near nervous breakdown and finanical ruin which 10 years later I am still trying to take care of.

I hope this is helpful.  There are some wonderful books out ther dealling with Bipolar  disorder.  Check your library.  Many have case studies and personal accounts.

Michellemcguirephd@hotmail.com