The counsellor I'm seeing suggested that I may have bipolar disorder...is this a diagnosis?

What does this mean?

At the moment I'm trying to avoid medication via therapy and keeping track of my moods and diet.

Those symptoms do match the ones I've been experiencing.

Yes it is a Diagnosis. It means you have bouts of ups and downs. You suffer from mania and depression at different times. You can get really depressed at sometimes and have very black ideas, while other times you can become extremely happy and do irrational activities.

A diagnosis is a "label" that your counselor might feel belongs to you if you meet certain criteria that go along with that label. If your counselor is suggesting "bipolar," he/she is saying that you may have severe mood swings and may go from deep depression to manic, highly excitable behavior where you have lots of energy but may do impulsive things.

Talk to your counselor about his/her perceptions. Get an understanding about what he/she is basing this on, and this will give you an insight into how you are living your life. A diagnosis is just a handy place to start. From there, the two of you can make plans and help you decide what to do to make your life more successful.

Good luck!

yes, its a diagnosis.

when your bipolar, your moods change constantly.

do you feel happy one day and really angry the next day?

and not just subtle depression.

your moods swings go out of whack, and you do impulsive things many times?

yes, its a diagnosis.

Yes. What meds are you on. Do you go from 0 to 60 in a blink of an eye?