Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is generally known for its ability to endure an individual with uncontrollable mood swings. The Mayo Clinic defines it as, “Bipolar disorder, formerly called manic depression, is a mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings that include emotional highs (mania or hypomania) and lows (depression).”

When an individual is on a low, they are generally depressed. The symptoms of this can be found in our article on depression and its symptoms. The Mayo Clinic states, “When you become depressed, you may feel sad or hopeless and lose interest or pleasure in most activities.” In other words, you kind of lose will to want and do things, and have a general feeling of sadness. This does not mean they cannot be happy for short amounts of times, but the sadness persists and essentially the strongest emotional factor.

On the flip side, individuals can go through a manic state where this is a “happy” stage. The Mayo Clinic states, “When your mood shifts to mania or hypomania (less extreme than mania), you may feel euphoric, full of energy or unusually irritable. These mood swings can affect sleep, energy, activity, judgment, behavior and the ability to think clearly.”

Mood swings can happen multiple times a year, and for some people, they can rarely occur. Bipolar is a lifelong condition, but symptoms can be managed through medicine and therapy.

There are four types of bipolar disorder as noted by The Mayo Clinic: bipolar I disorder, bipolar II disorder, cyclothymic disorder, other types. The Mayo Clinic defines each one:

• Bipolar I disorder. You’ve had at least one manic episode that may be preceded or followed by hypomanic or major depressive episodes. In some cases, mania may trigger a break from reality (psychosis).
• Bipolar II disorder. You’ve had at least one major depressive episode and at least one hypomanic episode, but you’ve never had a manic episode.
• Cyclothymic disorder. You’ve had at least two years — or one year in children and teenagers — of many periods of hypomania symptoms and periods of depressive symptoms (though less severe than major depression).
• Other types. These include, for example, bipolar and related disorders induced by certain drugs or alcohol or due to a medical condition, such as Cushing’s disease, multiple sclerosis or stroke.

People tend to be in the young adult range who are diagnosed, even though it can occur at any point in life. Generally, enough has happened in a persons life to be able to diagnose bipolar disorder.

For more information on bipolar disorder, visit The Mayo Clinic.