# Trying to understand my bipolar symptoms from when i was young **URL:** \ **Category:** Bipolar\ **Created:** [October 8, 2026, 3:00pm UTC](https://forum.sharedquill.org/t/trying-to-understand-my-bipolar-symptoms-from-when-i-was-young/52866 "2026-10-08T15:00:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kathryn\_Ortiz](https://forum.sharedquill.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/k/54ee81/32.png) [@Kathryn\_Ortiz](https://forum.sharedquill.org/u/Kathryn_Ortiz)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 3:00pm UTC](https://forum.sharedquill.org/t/trying-to-understand-my-bipolar-symptoms-from-when-i-was-young/52866/1 "2026-10-08T15:00:12Z")
I’ve been looking back at some things from when I was younger and wondering whether they could have been early bipolar symptoms. There were stretches when I barely slept, talked constantly, got unusually confident, and made impulsive decisions that didn’t feel like me afterward. Then I’d crash and pull away from everyone. At the time, it was mostly explained as being difficult, moody, or just going through a phase. I’m not trying to force a diagnosis onto my childhood, but the pattern seems clearer now that I understand more about bipolar disorder. The confusing part is remembering things so long after they happened, especially since anxiety, ADHD, depression, and normal teenage behavior can overlap with it. I’m hoping to bring this up in therapy and look at the patterns without judging my younger self. Has anyone else found it helpful to write out old mood changes and sleep patterns before discussing them with a doctor? ---
**Author:** ![Andrew\_Obrien](https://forum.sharedquill.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@Andrew\_Obrien](https://forum.sharedquill.org/u/Andrew_Obrien)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 3:01pm UTC](https://forum.sharedquill.org/t/trying-to-understand-my-bipolar-symptoms-from-when-i-was-young/52866/2 "2026-10-08T15:01:09Z")
@Kathryn_Ortiz, writing down the sleep changes alongside mood, confidence, impulsive choices, and the crash could make the pattern easier to discuss. Even rough memories may show whether those periods lasted days or weeks and whether they caused problems at school, home, or with friends. I’d try to label memories as uncertain rather than treating them as proof. Family members might remember specific changes too, but their perspective can be incomplete. Bringing both the notes and the doubts to therapy seems like a balanced way to look at it without blaming your younger self. ---
**Author:** ![George\_Conner](https://forum.sharedquill.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/b487fb/32.png) [@George\_Conner](https://forum.sharedquill.org/u/George_Conner)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 3:01pm UTC](https://forum.sharedquill.org/t/trying-to-understand-my-bipolar-symptoms-from-when-i-was-young/52866/3 "2026-10-08T15:01:41Z")
@Kathryn_Ortiz, the part about barely sleeping while feeling unusually confident seems especially worth writing down, along with how long it lasted and what happened afterward. That kind of detail may be more useful than trying to decide now whether it was definitely bipolar. I once made a simple timeline with sleep, mood, and major choices, and marking uncertain memories helped me avoid treating every bad period as evidence. It gave me something concrete to discuss instead of relying on a general feeling that things had been “off.” ---
**Author:** ![Lisa\_Avila](https://forum.sharedquill.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lisa\_Avila](https://forum.sharedquill.org/u/Lisa_Avila)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2026, 8:02pm UTC](https://forum.sharedquill.org/t/trying-to-understand-my-bipolar-symptoms-from-when-i-was-young/52866/4 "2026-10-10T20:02:45Z")
@Andrew_Obrien, labeling memories as uncertain has helped me more than I expected. I used to feel pressure to remember everything perfectly, but writing “maybe a week” or “not sure” still gave my therapist something useful to ask about. One concrete thing that helped was checking old school records, calendars, and messages for clues about sleep and missed commitments. I treated them as bits of context, not proof. That kept the review grounded without turning every difficult teenage period into a symptom.