...

What is Bipolar Disorder?

In America today, more than 2 million adults, or about 1 percent of the population have bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder typically develops in late adolescence or early adulthood while others may see their first symptoms during childhood or late in life.
Unfortunately, many people suffer for years before being properly diagnosed. Like diabetes or heart disease, bipolar disorder is a real illness that must be carefully managed throughout a person's life.
What is Bipolar Disorder?
Bipolar disorder causes dramatic mood swings, moving from overly "high" even irritable mood to sadness and hopelessness, and then switching back again. Often there are periods of normal mood in between.
Severe changes in energy and behavior go along with these changes in mood. The periods of highs and lows are called episodes of mania and depression.
Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes large shifts in a person's mood, energy, and ability to function. These are different from the normal ups and downs of that everyone goes through in life. The mood-swings of bipolar disorder are extreme. They can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance, and even suicide. But there is good news: bipolar disorder can be treated, and people with this illness can lead full and productive lives.

What Are the Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder?
According to the DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders there are two basic components to this disease, mania at one extreme and depression at the other.

The signs and symptoms of mania may include:
(1) inflated self-esteem or grandiosity
(2) decreased need for sleep (he or she may feel rested after only 3 hours of sleep)
(3) He or she may be more talkative than usual or feel pressure to keep talking
(4) There may be a flight of ideas or a feeling that that their thoughts are racing.
(5) They may exhibit distractibility (their attention may be too easily drawn to unimportant or irrelevant external stimuli)
(6) They may have an increase in goal-directed activity (either socially, at work or school, or sexually) or they may have psychomotor agitation
(7) Another sign is excessive involvement in pleasurable activities that have a high potential for painful consequences, like engaging in unrestrained buying sprees, sexual indiscretions, or foolish business investments.

Signs and symptoms of depression may include:
1) being in a depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day
(2) He or she may have a markedly diminished interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities
(3) There may be significant weight loss when not dieting or even weight gain or a decrease or increase in appetite .
(4) The may have Insomnia or Hypersomnia (sleeping too much)
(5) They may exhibit psychomotor agitation or retardation
(6) He or she may suffer from fatigue or loss of energy
(7) There may be feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt (which may be delusional)
(8) There may be a diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness
(9) They may have recurrent thoughts of death (not just fear of dying), recurrent suicidal ideation without a specific plan, or an actual suicide attempt, or they may have a specific plan for committing suicide.

Please note that the symptoms of bipolar disorder are very complex. The information provided here is only intended to be informational and does not provide sufficient information for a diagnosis.
A diagnosis can only be made by experienced trained professionals.

The information source for this program was adapted directly from publications by the National Institute of Mental Health and the DSM-IV-TR.

If you suspect you or a loved one may be suffering from a mood disorder or other mental illness the most important thing you can do is get help.