It's thought to affect about 1% of the population. So far the causes are unknown, although it seems to be a genetic problem rather than something to do with a person's upbringing.
Someone diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder will suffer from mood swings which encompass both Mania and Depression.
Let's start with Depression
We all know what depression is, right? Everyone gets depressed every now and then, don't they? Well, sort of. Clinical Depression (which I will refer to with a capital D) is more than just feeling sad. It has symptoms which are emotional and physical, and can make living a normal life almost impossible in some cases.
The following symptoms are common in Depression, but somebody who is Depressed may not experience them all but still be Depressed.
Emotional Symptoms
- Feelings of intense sadness, or feelings of numbness and inability to experience emotions at all
- The feeling that you want to burst into tears for no apparent reason
- Losing interest and feelings of enjoyment in things you used to find fun
- Feeling irritable
- Feeling useless, worthless and hopeless
- Feelings of guilt
- Low self confidence
- Thoughts of self-harm or suicide
Physical Symptoms
- Loss or increase of appetite
- Loss or increase of weight
- The compulsion to eat when sad or guilty
- Difficulty in getting to sleep (Insomnia) or feeling tired and sleeping all the time (Hypersomnia)
- Constant feelings of exhaustion
- Unexplained aches and pains
- Losing interest in sex
Thinking
- Poor memory and forgetfulness
- Finding it difficult to make even simple decisions
- Difficulty in starting and finishing things
- Poor concentration
Behaviour
- The feeling of thinking or moving slowly
- Crying all the time, or being unable to cry
- Losing interest in friends
- Performing poorly at work
These symptoms will have to persist for over two weeks to qualify for a diagnosis of depression, but if untreated they can last for weeks, months, or even years.
Now on to Mania
Mania is the opposite of Depression, usually experienced as intense feelings of optimism and self confidence. This may initially sound like a positive experience but it can affect your body, behaviour and thinking just as seriously.
Emotional Symptoms
- Feeling very happy and excited, sometimes to the point of euphoria
- Feeling restless and irritable
- Feeling an increased sense of self-importance
Physical Symptoms
- Excess of energy
- Feeling fidgety and restless
- Inability to, or lack of interest in, sleeping
- Increase in sex drive
Thinking
- Racing thoughts
- Inability to concentrate
- Feeling full of new ideas
- Hopping from one idea to another very quickly
- Increased creativity
Behaviour
- Making grandiose and unrealistic plans
- Pacing and fidgeting a lot
- Erratic behaviour
- Poor judgement
- Misuse of alcohol or drugs
- Risky sexual behaviour
- Impulse decisions, over-spending or gambling
- Lack of inhibition, over-familiarity with other people possibly crossing into inappropriate social behaviour
There are certainly symptoms among this list that can be positive on their own... but they rarely come alone. And their friends are the ones that make an Manic episode quite dangerous.
Types of Bipolar Disorder
The frequency and severity with which people with Bipolar Disorder experience the above episodes will vary from person to person, depending on which class they fall into.
Bipolar I must have at least one episode of mania which has lasted for longer than a week. Some people only have mania, but most will have periods of Depression as well.
Bipolar II will generally have more periods of severe Depression, but only mild periods of mania which are called 'hypomania'.
Rapid Cycling refers to cases of more than four episodes of mood swings in a year. It happens to about 1 in 10 people with Bipolar Disorder and can happen with both types I and II.
Cyclothymic disorder involves less severe periods of Depression and Mania but they can last for longer.
Some people can return to 'normal' between episodes (what IS normal?), but a lot of people continue to experience some symptoms of depression and problems in thinking even when they think they feel normal. For instance it seems to be quite common for people with Bipolar to experience anxiety problems when not having a clear cut episode.
Psychotic Episodes
The word 'psychotic' has no relation with the word 'psychopath'. People with Psychotic episodes are not Psychopaths. (This distinction is often forgotten by the media and for the purposes of films and books. This is a pet peeve of mine.)
Psychosis is used to describe an episode in which a person's ability to tell the difference between imagination and reality is impaired, and they may see or hear things that are not there (or smell, or taste, these are called Hallucinations) or have unusual beliefs (that are called Delusions.)
Common delusions in Mania are that you have great importance, that you are on a mission or have special powers or abilities. Common delusions in Depression are that you are guilty for something, a terrible person, or even that you don't exist.
People with Bipolar Disorder do not experience psychosis all the time, it never occurs without Mania or Depression, and although it's surprisingly common it is usually quite mild and people don't even notice. The idea that people experiencing psychosis are going to murder someone is a common trope in films but is actually, as with most tropes and stereotypes, UTTER BULLSHIT.
That's it for today! Phew!
This was put together from my own memories of my diagnosis, my own experiences, articles that I have read, etc. etc., and all of the latter will be put in my Edumacational Links page for your perusal.
