Bipolar Disorder Basics

About Bipolar

Emotional highs and lows are part of life for everyone. But, if you have bipolar disorder, these ups and downs can be so extreme that they can interfere with daily life. Sometimes, they can even be dangerous.

One day a person with bipolar disorder may feel so depressed that they can’t get out of bed. Work seems impossible.

On another day that person may feel great, full of endless energy and creativity. But other people might think that their actions are reckless and out of control.

Bipolar disorder is a lifelong illness that can be confusing and unpredictable. But it’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Learning more about bipolar disorder can be helpful in managing this medical illness.

What is bipolar disorder?

Bipolar disorder is a serious medical illness that can affect your ability to feel a normal range of moods. You can have mood swings that can range from very low (depression) to very high (mania). In between these extreme moods, most people with bipolar disorder have well periods, when they have few or no symptoms. But, for a few people with bipolar disorder, the symptoms never go away. They have one extreme mood or the other all the time.

Bipolar disorder is also known as manic-depression. The word bipolar is now used because the disorder is made up of two poles, or extremes.

For example, picture a globe. The North Pole would be mania and the South Pole would be depression.

Every time you have symptoms of one pole for a specific period of time, it is called an episode.

Depression: People with bipolar disorder can feel very sad, sometimes for long periods of time. They may not even want to get out of bed or eat. They don’t enjoy doing things they used to do.
Mania: Mania is the other side of bipolar disorder. Mania may start with a good feeling, almost like a “high.” You may feel good. But this feeling may change to full-blown mania or depression. Or, mania may make a person feel very irritable and angry. People with mania may do very risky things.

People with bipolar disorder can have both mania and depression. How often they occur, and how strong the feelings are, vary from person to person.

Learn more about bipolar disorder signs and symptoms.

Some people have trouble seeing a pattern to their cycles of mania and depression. Others find that outside events, like the change of the seasons or personal problems, can affect them. Many people have mania in the spring and fall, and depression in the winter.

Next: What causes bipolar disorder?

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