Manic depression, or bipolar disorder, is a mood disorder where patients have symptoms of both mania and depression. According to the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation, children can be diagnosed with manic depression. The type of manic depression that the child is diagnosed with depends on the symptoms that he displays.
Mania Symptoms
Mania is characterized as a mood that is much higher than normal. According to the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation, patients with mania symptoms experience euphoria, grandiosity, hallucinations, psychosis, racing thoughts and irritability. During a manic episode, the child may participate in risky activities and have a decreased need for sleep. In addition, the child can be more talkative and excessively distracted. If a child has mainly mania symptoms, she will be diagnosed with bipolar I disorder; she will have either an elevated mood and three other symptoms or an irritable mood and four other symptoms.
Depression Symptoms
Depression is on the opposite spectrum compared to mania. According to the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation, symptoms of depression include withdrawal from activities, feelings of hopelessness, thoughts of death and suicide and feelings of worthlessness, self-hate and inappropriate guilt. During a depressive episode, the child may have trouble sleeping or excessively sleep, a dramatic change in appetite and problems concentrating. In addition, the child may have a lack of energy. If a child has mainly depression symptoms, he will be diagnosed with bipolar II disorder, where he has recurring periods of depression with episodes of normal or hypomanic moods; hypomania is a lesser form of mania.
Other Classifications
While the only types of symptoms of children's manic depression is mania and depression, there are more than two types of manic depression. If the child has severe mood swings but the symptoms do not fall into either bipolar I or bipolar II disorder, it will be classified as bipolar disorder NOS (not otherwise specified). If the child has mood swings that impairs her life but are less severe, she will be diagnosed with cyclothymia. However, parents should watch for many changes in behavior, as cyclothymia can develop into full-blown bipolar disorder, according to the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation.
