The Other Day, While Visiting Relatives

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks (National Institutes of Health, Bipolar Disorder). Bipolar disorder symptoms can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance, and even suicide (National Institutes of Health, Bipolar Disorder). Doctors diagnose bipolar disorder using guidelines from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM); to be diagnosed with bipolar disorder, the symptoms must be a major change from your normal mood or behavior (National Institutes of Health, Bipolar Disorder in Adults). There are four basic types of bipolar disorder: Bipolar I Disorder, Bipolar II Disorder, Bipolar Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (BP-NOS), and Cyclothymic Disorder, or Cyclothymia.

Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness that is characterized by changes in mood. It can lead to risky behavior, damage relationships and careers, and even suicidal outcomes if it’s not treated. Bipolar disorder is more common in older teenagers and young adults, it can affect children as young as 6. Women experience more periods of depression than men. More remains to be learned about this condition that affects millions of people.

Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness in which common emotions become intensely and often unpredictably magnified. Individuals with bipolar disorder can quickly swing from extremes of happiness, energy and clarity to sadness, fatigue and confusion. Bipolar disorder more commonly develops in older teenagers and young adults; it can appear in children as 6. The exact cause of bipolar disorder is unknown; there are two types of this disease:

Bipolar Disorder is an increasingly common mood disorder that effects millions of people worldwide. In order to understand the plight of any psychiatric patient suffering from this ailment or to be prepared to treat this disease, it is pertinent to first fully understand what this mental disorder truly is. The first misconception surrounding bipolar disorder is that it is just one disease, contrarily it can be divided into two different sub categories. The National Institute for Mental Health defines Bipolar I Disorder as “manic or mixed episodes that last at least seven days, or by manic symptoms that are so severe that the person needs immediate hospital care. Usually, depressive episodes occur as well, typically lasting at least 2 weeks”. Likewise, they define Bipolar II disorder as “a pattern of depressive episodes and hypomanic episodes, but no full-blown manic or mixed episodes”.

Bipolar disorder is a mental illness which causes extreme mood swings in which the person would have times of emotional highs (manic or hypomania) and lows (depression), with periods of normal mood in between. Bipolar can affect relationships and the ability to carry out day to day tasks.

What is bipolar disorder? As defined by the (NIMH 1), “Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. Symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. They are different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through from time to time. Bipolar disorder symptoms can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance, and even suicide. But bipolar disorder can be treated, and people with this illness can lead full and productive lives.”

Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition that is characterized by periods of both mania and depression; the criteria for bipolar requires at least one depressive episode and one manic episode. There will be questions about

The National Institute of Mental Health has defined bipolar disorder as a serious mental illness that is marked by extreme changes in mood that range between two states: manic and depressive. Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is classified as a mood disorder. This disorder goes beyond the typical ups and downs. Bipolar disorder is becoming more prevalent amongst children and teenagers and it is seen as a much more serious medical condition than it has in the past. A manic episode is characterized by feeling the following: very happy, excited, impulsive, show a short temper, talk really fast about a

When a seventh grader at Frederick Area High School in Frederick, South Dakota, was asked to describe what bipolar disorder is, he said that it refers to people that “change personalities fast” (McGaugh). However, this is only a common misconception. Though the word “bipolar” is often used in conversations to describe a person that has mood swings, bipolar disorder actually refers to a serious mental illness. According to the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, about 2.6 percent of American adults suffer from a form of bipolar disorder, and about one in five people with bipolar disorder commits suicide. Despite the impact that bipolar disorder has on the lives of patients and families alike, it is treated casually by people across the United States. Even though many treat it flippantly, bipolar disorder is a serious mental ailment, and the public needs to have a greater understanding of it.

Mental health authorities estimate that more than 2 million adults have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder (also called manic-depression), a chemical imbalance in the brain causing extreme mood swings from manic highs to agonizing lows. Although a diagnosis of bipolar disorder can be frightening and confusing, it is a treatable and manageable condition.

The National Institute of Mental Health has defined bipolar disorder as a serious mental illness that is marked by extreme changes in mood that range between two states: manic and depressive. Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is classified as a mood disorder. This disorder goes beyond the typical ups and downs. Bipolar disorder is becoming more prevalent and a much more serious medical condition. A manic episode is characterized by feeling the following: very happy, excited, impulsive, show a short temper, talk really fast about a lot of different things, trouble sleeping or not tired, and trouble focusing (National

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depressive disorder, is defined as “a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks” (1). According to the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, this disorder affects approximately 5.7 million people age 18 and older in the United States annually (2). There are a few different categories of this disorder including Bipolar I Disorder, Bipolar II Disorder, and Cyclothymic

Bipolar Disorder is a serious mental illness. Individuals with this disorder experience common emotions that become intense and often unpredictable. Individuals with bipolar disorder are known to quickly switch from extremes of happiness, displaying energy and clarity, to sadness, feeling fatigue and confusion. All people with bipolar disorder have manic episodes; irritable moods that abnormally elevate and last at least a week and that cause damaging functioning. Although they all face mood swings, not all individuals with this disorder become depressed. The shifts in their moods can be devastating and traumatic. With the extremity of them, individuals may choose suicide to stop them all together (Kazdin, A. 2000).

Bipolar disorder, otherwise known as manic-depressive disorder, is a severe psychological condition of rapid alterations of a contrasting momentary conscious state of mind. Conditions of this particular illness range in severity from an extreme high (Bipolar 1 or Mania) or to a dangerously low (Bipolar 2 or Depression). In addition, it is also common for an individual diagnosed with the illness to experience psychiatric indications of misconceptions. Onset traits of bipolar become present within young adulthood, generally within the age of 20, after an individual has endured recurring alterations for an abnormally extended time. BP is categorized into four types and the disorder has been linked to enhanced

Bipolar disorder, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), is “a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, and activity levels,” and