Bipolar Disorder: Living on a Roller Coaster!

[Anonymous]

What is Bipolar Disorder?

Bipolar disorder is an affective disorder that is characterized by changes in mood, with phases of mania, hypomania or mixed.

Like the great majority of disorders, it affects the functioning and well-being. Suicide rates are very high among people with bipolar disorder.

The Different Heights of This Roller Coaster

The manic episode

Symptoms:

- Exaggerated self- esteem.
- More talkative than usual.
- Difficulty to maintain attention.
- Excessive involvement in pleasant activities with great potential to produce serious consequences.

The hypomanic episode

Symptoms:

- Loss or significant increase in weight or appetite
- Insomnia or hypersomnia.
- Feelings of excessive uselessness or guilt.
- Recurrent thoughts of death.
- Mandatory or depressed mood most of the day or general apathy.

The mixed episode

The mixed episode meets the criteria for a manic episode and a major depressive episode, almost every day, for at least 1 week.

[carncars]

Good article. All the things the bipolar believes are true. And they call it manic so manic means knowing the truth about yourself. Those not called crazy have a low self esteem. That is also very interesting and they should do some research to that to about they think. I keep it short but bipolar know how attractive they are and they are so they do not brag about it because they want to be recognised for what they are and get what they deserve from a partner who accept their value of life.

[JenSCDC]

You've mislabeled the symptoms of a depressive episode as hypomania, which is something entirely different.

[LittleSally]

It used to be called manic. depressive disorder... which is a name that pretty much cleared the whole thing up, I don't know why they changed it...
Anyways, it's certainly not easy, much as any mental disorder isn't...