Bipolar disorder, also called manic depression or manic depressive illness, is like living on a roller coaster. Mood swings are severe, going from extreme highs to depressive lows for weeks and even months on end. Bipolar disorder doesn't just affect the person with the mental illness. The family often goes through the pain of the illness as well. According to the Mayo Clinic, if bipolar disorder goes untreated, the illness generally gets worse and can lead to suicide.
Manic Symptoms
The manic phase of bipolar disorder can result in a number of symptoms that range in severity and duration. Depending on the personality of the person, some of the symptoms may be easy to spot, while others are quite difficult. The most common symptoms include euphoria, radical optimism, elevated self-esteem, bad judgment, fast speech, aggression and agitation. Other symptoms are risky behavior including drug use or spending sprees, increased physical and mental activity, an inability to focus and an increased desire to reach goals and perform.
Depression Symptoms
Just like manic symptoms, depression symptoms can last for long periods of time and, depending on the person's personality, may be hard to identify. Common symptoms associated with depression include feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, guilt, sadness, suicidal thoughts or behaviors, problems sleeping and concentrating, fatigue, chronic pain, a loss of enthusiasm and irritability.
Related Symptoms
Bipolar disorder manifests itself in two other ways: rapid cycling bipolar disorder and mixed state bipolar disorder. In someone with rapid cycling bipolar disorder, it's not uncommon to see four or more identifiable mood swings in twelve months or less, some occurring over a matter of hours. With mixed state bipolar disorder, the illness causes both manic and depressive symptoms at the same time.
Types
Depending on the symptoms suffered, bipolar disorder can fall into one of two main subtypes: bipolar I disorder and bipolar II disorder. Bipolar I disorder is the less severe of the two, and involves instances in which the manic phase occurs only once, with no previous, or subsequent, depressive phase. Bipolar II involves both a manic and depressive phase. But unlike bipolar I, the manic phase is much shorter, what is known as hypermanic. The depressive symptoms, on the other hand, can be drawn out, sometimes lasting months.
Cyclothymia
If someone around you suffers from mood swings, but the symptoms and timelines are not so severe that you think he has bipolar disorder, you may be dealing with cyclothymia, which is a milder form of the disorder.
