Bit of personal insight here, I have anger issues that may border on bi-polar. I've never attempted a diagnosis or treatment, I just try to maintain a cool head. Most of the time I'm rational and level headed. However, there are certain triggers that just make me snap, completely flipping my personality.
On more than one occasion, Starcraft 2 was one of those triggers. It only occurred after long heated anonymous matches that I lost, never during single player or with friends. I shelved Starcraft 2 shortly after a bad outburst where I broke the door of my wooden keyboard tray.
If I had to guess, the intense focus I was putting into Starcraft broke my normal awareness of my emotions. Thus, loosing control when I was defeated.
Going from normal to angry is not "flipping" your personality. It's called bipolar for a reason: there are two poles, equidistant from a center. It's also called manic depression: when you're not depressed you're often high as fuck.
What you described is called "getting really angry and losing your shit." It happens to pretty much everyone.
EDIT: I probably should have written that like less of an asshole. Sorry - I'm not here to deny your problems. The point still stands though.
Perhaps I chose the word bipolar incorrectly, but it's the closest word that describes the situations I've encountered with my anger.
I guess the feeling is hard to describe; "getting really angry and losing your shit." doesn't cover it at all, especially in the situations I can remember. Everybody looses their cool, this is way beyond that for me. The situations where it's come up wouldn't constitute the level of rage I've felt.
There is a continuum between losing your shit, like normal people do, and having a full blown behavioural disorder that destroys your life. We all lie somewhere on it. There's probably another continuum that goes off in the other direction, with jesus hanging out on the end with master joshu or something.
If you need to put a label on yourself, intermittent explosive disorder or something is likely closer than bipolar.
What symptoms do you get that make you think you're bipolar?
I'm asking because most people diagnose themselves as being either bipolar or ADHD, and it's almost always a bogus diagnostics based on very common personality aspects that everyone has, such as some level of mood swings or tendency to procrastinate...
For me, it's the complete 180 of my personality. Sure, I get angry like anybody else, but it's usually the frustration type of anger. These are usually diffused by simple discussion or critical thinking. That type of anger isn't what I'm referring to.
None of my incidents have been in a work environment, which may be linked to my analytical personality. Situations at work can be controlled and resolved easily.
The fits I'm citing are full on rage, like zero to "put your head through a wall" in 2 seconds flat.
Like I said, and you mentioned, I'm only guessing at a diagnosis. It's likely that my rage is linked to my level of control in a situation.
My personal experience doesn't constitute proof of anything (nor I'm a psychiatrist anyway), but the two bipolar people I'm somewhat close to are very analytical, stable guys. Then they turn around and become something else entirely - one of them has managed to build huge businesses TWICE, only to have a mood swing (usually after a few weeks without meds) and simply walking away, fight everyone, get a divorce and go to jail for beating someone over a trivial discussion. The other simply goes away (literally - leave home for weeks and pretend he's dead)
On more than one occasion, Starcraft 2 was one of those triggers. It only occurred after long heated anonymous matches that I lost, never during single player or with friends. I shelved Starcraft 2 shortly after a bad outburst where I broke the door of my wooden keyboard tray.
If I had to guess, the intense focus I was putting into Starcraft broke my normal awareness of my emotions. Thus, loosing control when I was defeated.