How to determine of you have bipolar disorder?

To REALLY know: If you have bipolar disorder, talk to a psychiatrist or psychologist. A diagnosis requires a good history & evaluation of your symptoms. Symptoms include manic or hypomanic episodes (abnormally elevated mood & energy) and sometimes depressive episodes.

Bipolar: Periods of agitation, grandiosity and lack of sleep, alternating with periods of sadness & lack of energy and appetite changes, basically highs & lows.

Psychiatric eval : Can provide this diagnosis. However, it sometimes takes more than a session to diagnose accurately. Mania or hypomania: 1 may show aggression, agitation, v judgment ; impulse control, distractability, rapid thoughts ; speech, ^ libido, v sleep, spending sprees, high risk behaviors, elation, ^ physical activity or psychosis. When depressed 1 may have low mood, v energy level, v concentration, >.

Eval: If you are concerned that you may have bipolar disorder recommend addressing this with your physician. He or she may recommend more comprehensive assessment by a clinical psychologist or a psychiatrist.

It's complicated: If by 'bipolar' you mean moody, I am sure your friends and family can tell you. If instead you mean having diagnosable mental illness called bipolar disorder, it is best to get a psychiatric evaluation as bipolar disorder is easy to both under- and over- diagnose, with potentially serious long-term consequences of either kind of misdiagnosis.