What is the difference between being bipolar and having asperger's syndrome?

Question

I read that there is a fine line between being bipolar and having asperger's syndrome (which is on the autism spectrum) and it is often hard to diagnose one from the other. Is this true? Can someone have both of these disorders?

Answer 1

Those are two very different things. Asperger's syndrome is a pervasive developmental disorder. Bipolar disorder (also known as manic depression) is a mental illness.

Someone with Asperger's syndrome is "socially blind". They struggle with social interactions, they are socially awkward, cannot read or use body language or facial expressions well, have difficulty making eye contact, may not understand sarcasm, jokes or politeness and tend to take things literally, may display socially inappropriate behavior without realizing it, may lack empathy, have obsessive interests and may have problems such as sensory issues and poor motor skills.

Someone with bipolar disorder has extreme emotional ups and downs. One day they may feel so depressed that they can't get out of bed or do simple daily things. The next day they may feel great and be full of energy and feel like they can do anything.

It is not hard to diagnose one from the other. They are not really similar. Someone with Asperger's syndrome may throw tantrums or have meltdowns, which I suppose can seem similar to when a bipolar person goes from an extreme up to an extreme down, but everything else is very different.

Answer 2

Aspergers is similar to autism, but more the social aspect. People with this condition have trouble relating to others socially. Neing bipolar is more emotional. A lot of depression can come into play. Being fine one moment and depressed the next.

Answer 3

Who told you that?

Ugh.  Misinformation.

Bipolar is a MOOD disorder caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.  It makes people have episodes of depression and mania.  There are several forms of Bipolar, but they can be controlled with medication.  For example, the gold standard for Bipolar 1 is Lithium.  Many people with Bipolar 2 are on Lamicatal.

Asperger's Syndrome is a PERVASIVE DEVELOPMENTAL disorder.  People with aspergers have problems relating and with social interaction and tend to have restricted patterns of behavior, interests and activities.  Unlike other autism spectrum disorders, people with aspergers have no delay in language or cognitive development.

The two are NOT related at all.

Answer 4

There is a huge difference between bipolar disorder and asperger's they are totally different diagnosis.  Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder.

A person could have both conditions.

Here is a link that explains bipolar disorder.

http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section...