What is Bipolar Disorder?

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression is a mental illness that causes severe moods swings and changes in energy, sleep, behavior, and thinking. People who have bipolar disorder may have periods where they feel extremely energetic and happy, and other periods feel overly hopeless, sad, and lazy. Between these periods, they usually feel normal. You can think of lows and highs as two poles of mood, which is known as bipolar disorder. The word manic refers to when a person with bipolar disorder feels extremely confident and excited.

These feelings can include reckless and emotional decision making and irritability. During mania, about half the people may have delusions (believing things that are not true and cannot be talked about) or hallucinations (hearing or seeing things that are not there). Hypomania involves mild symptoms of mania, in which an individual doesn’t have hallucinations or delusion, and most of the symptoms do not interfere with their daily life. Depressive refers to the time when an individual feels extremely depressed or sad. The symptoms are similar to those in major depressive disorder, a condition in which a person never has hypnotic or manic episodes. Most people with bipolar disorder have depressive symptoms.

In bipolar disorder, dramatic low and high temperament episodes do not follow a set pattern. One can feel the same mood many times before switching to another mood. These episodes can last for weeks, months and sometimes even years. However, its severity varies from one person to another and can change over time, becoming less or more severe.

Symptoms of mania include: restlessness, poor concentration, excessive hopefulness, happiness, excitement, less need for sleep, unusually high sex drive, easily distracted, making unrealistic plans, drug and alcohol abuse, rapid speech, showing poor judgment, sudden mood changes from being joyful to being angry, irritable, hostile, increased energy, and becoming more impulsive.

During depressive periods a person with bipolar disorder may feel the loss of energy, forgetfulness, not enjoying things they once enjoyed, sadness, hopelessness, loss of a sex drive, irritability, trouble concentrating, trouble to make decisions, needing more sleep, insomnia, talking slowly, attempting suicide, thoughts of suicide, inability to feel pleasure, and appetite changes.

Bipolar disorder usually starts in a person’s early teens or late adolescence. It can occur earlier in childhood rarely, and it may run in families. Women and men both are likely to have it, but women are more likely to undergo rapid cycling, with four or more mood episodes in a year. Women spend more time in depression than men with bipolar disorder. It develops later in life in women and is more likely to be affected by seasonal mood changes.

The combination of mental and medical problems is also more common. These medical problems can include migraines, thyroid disease, and anxiety disorders. In addition, going through a period of extreme stress or trauma, having a family member with bipolar disorder, drug or alcohol abuse, and certain health conditions can also lead to bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder is challenging for both the affected person and their family members, but it does not have to take control of your life. Getting the right treatment for bipolar disorder can help you learn how to manage symptoms. Take the first step towards treating bipolar disorder by reaching out to us at Restore 360, a Philadelphia mental health clinic. Our full-service psychiatric assessments will provide you with a personalized diagnosis that allows you to get the care you need. Call us today at (484) 373-2710 to get help or schedule an appointment online. Let Restore 360 lead you down the path to recovery.