2 Overview: What Is Bipolar Disorder?
BY LISA SELBST WEINREB, JD, INTERNATIONAL BIPOLAR FOUNDATION COFOUNDER
Bipolar disorder, formerly known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual and extreme fluctuations in a person’s mood. These fluctuations are very different from the normal mood changes most people experience. Those with bipolar disorder commonly have very severe mood changes that can impact all aspects of their lives, including work, relationships, and school.
People living with bipolar disorder may also experience substance use disorder and attempt suicide at higher rates than those who do not have bipolar disorder. However, bipolar disorder is manageable, and most people diagnosed with bipolar disorder can lead healthy, active and productive lives with the right supports and treatments.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 60 million people worldwide live with bipolar disorder. Some experts believe that the prevalence is even higher because children who live with bipolar disorder are not included in this number. Bipolar disorder typically develops in late adolescence or early adulthood, but many people experience their first symptoms in childhood. Bipolar disorder is often either not recognized or is misdiagnosed, resulting in people unnecessarily suffering for years before being properly diagnosed and treated.Bipolar disorder is a lifelong illness that must be addressed and treated throughout a person’s life, just like any other chronic disease, such as diabetes and heart disease.
SYMPTOMS OF BIPOLAR DISORDER
According to the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), “people with bipolar disorder experience unusually intense emotional states that occur in distinct periods called ‘mood episodes.’” NIMH describes a mood episode as an overly joyful or overly excited state or manic episode. An extremely sad or hopeless state is called a depressive episode. Sometimes, a mood episode includes symptoms of both mania and depression resulting in a mixed state. People with bipolar disorder also may be irritable during a mood episode.
BEHAVIORAL CHANGES
- Distraction
- Rapid speech, racing thoughts
- Increasing goal-directed activities, such as taking on new projects
- Decreased need for sleep
- Unrealistic belief in one’s abilities
- Impulsive and high-risk behaviors such as spending sprees or impulsive sexual activity
- Feeling tired or “slowed down”
- Having problems concentrating, remembering, and making decisions
- Being restless or irritable
- Changing eating, sleeping or other habits
- Thinking of death or suicide, or attempting suicide*
REFERENCES
- Call or text the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988
- Go to 988Lifeline for additional resources.