Bipolar Disorder

What is Bipolar Disorder?

Bipolar disorder, known to some as manic-depressive disorder, is a mood disorder characterized by symptoms of mania. Mania is sometimes described as the mirror image to depression, but that isn’t quite accurate.

While depression is a consistent and chronically low mood, which can affect self-image, cause fatigue, and even heighten pain sensitivity, mania is an overabundance of energy, sometimes dangerously coupled with delusions of grandeur, sleeplessness, and excessive risk-taking (impulsiveness). Manic symptoms can be life-threatening due to lack of inhibition or proper risk assessment. Mania can also be coupled with hallucinations.

Many cases of bipolar disorder consist of hypomanic episodes, rather than severe mania. Hypomania is still characterized by elevated mood, but fewer delusions, and lower impulsivity. Cases of hypomania are more often coupled with depressive symptoms.

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People with bipolar disorder do not always experience mood swings. It’s not usual for someone to experience a manic episode for a week, and then go into a depressive episode the next week. While rapid-cycling cases and mixed cases of both mania and depression exist, most cases of bipolar disorder involve 3-4 total episodes per year. These episodes can last multiple weeks, with symptoms of varying severity.

Bipolar disorder can be difficult to manage without medication and therapy. But with the right treatment approach, many cases of bipolar disorder are highly treatable, allowing for a long and fulfilling life.

Forms of Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder can be subcategorized based on the severity of the mania, and the duration of symptoms.

Bipolar I

Bipolar I is diagnosed in people who experience severe manic behavior, often resulting in hospitalization. Bipolar I can also include depressive episodes, and mixed episodes, where symptoms of mania and depression occur simultaneously.

Bipolar II

Bipolar II is characterized by more severe depressive symptoms, and hypomania, or less severe manic symptoms.

Unspecified Bipolar Disorder

Conditions that don’t match bipolar I or II are sometimes diagnosed as unspecified, until a person’s symptoms change. It can take several weeks to months to properly evaluate a person’s mood cycles. When someone experiences mild, rapidly cycling symptoms of both mania and depression, they may be diagnosed with cyclothymia rather than bipolar disorder. This is a rarer condition.

Bipolar Disorder Treatment at Resolutions

Bipolar disorder can be life threatening without proper treatment and support. In cases where a person has experienced severe manic episodes, inpatient treatment or intensive outpatient treatment may be necessary.

Bipolar disorder is treated with antidepressants and mood stabilizers. Medication, especially mood stabilizers, is crucial when symptoms include suicidality or severe mania.

Outside of severe episodes, people with bipolar disorder often struggle due to changes in motivation, mood, concentration, energy, and fatigue. Outpatient treatment at Resolutions helps clients with bipolar disorder learn to recognize mood changes, manage certain symptoms, and utilize medication schedules and regular therapy sessions to improve and maintain a better quality of life.