7yr old daughter may be bipolar

Hi there. I'm becoming convinced my daughter is bipolar. She has always been a very emotional child. When she is happy, she's on top of the world. When she's mad, she is fuming, shaking yelling, lashing out. And when she's sad she cries uncontollably like it's the end of the world. All of her emotions are 110 percent. Lately she seems really depressed about it. She says she just can't control her emotions and that they are too big for her to handle. She can also go from one extreme to the other in the blink of an eye. We seem to walk on eggshells around her sometimes afraid we will set her off. She has a little brother, who like most little brother can be a real pest. There are times I worry she will really hurt him. When he bothers her she lashes out before she can stop herself.
Anyway, I have no idea what to do for her. Do I take her to a therapist? Or her DR? Where do I start? Also, is there some sort of test for bipolar?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!!

achy,

welcome to hw and to our gp family.  you are certainly welcome and accpeted here.

my info is somewhat dated (but, then again, so am i - just turned 61) but i thought that bp didn't manifest until late adolescence or adulthood.  it could, of course, just be a matter of diagnosis.  bp is one of the most difficult mental illnesses to diagnose because the dr has to see both phases - the manic and the depressive.

i agree with allie in that your first entryway is through your dr or pediatrician.  if he/she thinks that further review is needed, he/she can get you a referral.

the problem with kids at this age 9i'm now on great-grands) is that a ertain behavior, or lack of it, can be a sign of almost anything.  the problem becomes exacerbated at puberty when hormones begin raging and they are certain they've "fallen in luv."  all of my female geneations get upset when i tel them they are just in hormones.

with that bit of light to look forward to, i hope that this helped at least a little bit.

warren