Q:  Had a Meltdown at Work

I had sort of meltdown at work where my speech pattern was was affected. I couldn't put a sentence together. I also had paranoid and delusional thinking. I've had classic signs of bipolar 2 up until that point, but nothing like that this. I am 43 years old. Did I experience a psychotic break?

Elizabeth, 

Normally a person does with bipolar type II does not change into bipolar type I at this period of life.  It could be possible that your illness was misdiagnosed and has always been type I.  If this happened only once and didn’t last long, it may be due to anxiety, stress, lack of sleep, or even medication changes.  Physical causes needed to be considered as well – migraines, small strokes, etc.  I would check with your psychiatrist to investigate this further and if necessary see your regular doctor for a physical exam.

 Dr Plyler

 
Published May, 2011