The Bipolar Mecca: DSM-V or DSM-IV-TR?

This was one of the first books that I read shortly after being diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. I wanted to be sure that I was diagnosed correctly. Coincidentally enough, I have not been correctly diagnosed by my current psychiatric nurse. She says that I'm a Bipolar II and I think I'm Bipolar I, according to the DSM-IV-TR. She told me once that it didn't matter as long as the treatment took care of my episodes. But it's the new edition, the DSM-V, that has really grabbed my attention.

Some say that the DSM-V is really a prescription for trouble.

There's a lot of argument over the elimination of bipolar disorder in children and other important areas. I feel mortified that the psychiatrists who have worked on this new edition are taking a step backwards instead of forward. It worries me. Will we start being lab rats once again until the DSM is overworked again?

We're supposed to trust that the people who are creating the psychiatric rules are a little smarter than this.

They want to get rid of aspergers and lump it all under autism; where there are people who can't even speak. They want to get rid of gender identity issues as a psychiatric disorder. They want to get rid of a disorder where bipolars and schizophrenics aren't able to register that they're sick. There's so much that they're getting rid of that needs to be there. Where will psychiatry be without some of this vital information?

How will our children, once diagnosed as bipolar, function without a correct diagnosis? There a lot of angry little ones out there who will have no recourse for their problems. I've wondered if they were diagnosed too quickly, but I don't think there's any doubt that bipolar in children exists. The DSM-V will be putting a shadow on an important illness.

Once again, I will say that I'm worried.

Does my psychiatric nurse agree with the new changes? Will she be forced to diagnose problems according to this book that so many people have an objection to? What does this mean to me? Will there be changes to bipolar disorder in the new manual? I shudder to think that this monstrosity will hit so close to home for me, as well as for others.

But, let's remember to take this one day at a time. If this is meant to be, it'll be. The best thing we can do is to be informed and educated about the manual. Take an afternoon to read the DSM-IV-TR and then compare it to the DSM-V when it comes out.