I have been diagnosed with schizoeffective bipolar type, and I don't fully understand this mental illness. Could you please explain it to me?

Patients with hallucinations, delusions and disordered thoughts but also appear elated or depressed are "Schizoaffective." If mostly depressed, we refer to them as Schizoaffective depressed type or if manic, Schizoaffective manic type. Must be distinguished from Psychotic depression in which the symptoms arise after age of 40 or more bizarre symptoms in Schizoaffective patient.

A bipolar patient with psychotic symptoms is quite common and thus Schizoaffectve disorder should be preserved more for patients with negative symptoms of Schizophrenia (poverty of thought, reduced drive or volition, diminished affect or feelings, apathy, diminished capacity for pleasure). Some experts argue we should be more rigorous in our diagnoses and thus either diagnose Schizophrenia or Bipolar disorder. I think those experts are correct to some extent, although I also believe schizoafective disorder is real.

Probably the best way of looking at these patients is to assume that Bipolar disorder is on a continuum with Schizophrenia and it is the worse of the 2 disorders and schizoaffective occupies an in-between position. I tend to use this diagnosis for patients with Bipolar disorder that are unable to function in terms of work or socializing, although that can be caused by more than just Schizoaffective disorder. Hope this helps and thanks for the question.