BIPOLARDISORDER

T H E S Y M P T O M S A N D B E H A V I O R S O F

by Her r ick L ipton

A N I N T R O D U C T I O N

Bipolar Disorder is a serious mental i l lnessthat affects over 2% of the population of the

United States. I t is characterized general ly bydramatic mood swings, but there are f ive

dist inct types of this disorder that each havedifferent associated symptoms. Be on the

lookout for the fol lowing behaviors that mayindicate a type of bipolar disorder.

T h i s t y p e o f b i p o l a r d i s o r d e r i n c l u d e s i n i t ss y m p t o m s t h e m o s t d a m a g i n g m o o d s w i n g s .T h o s e e x p e r i e n c i n g b i p o l a r 1 d i s o r d e r w i l l

g o t h o u g h p e r i o d s o f m a n i a f o l l o w e d b yp e r i o d s o f i n t e n s e d e p r e s s i o n . T h e r e i s n os p e c i f i c a m o u n t o f t i m e e a c h p h a s e l a s t s ,

h o w e v e r g o i n g b e t w e e n t h e t w o i s v e r yd a m a g i n g .

B I P O L A R I D I S O R D E R

Those with this condit ion tend to experienceless severe mood swings. The depressive

episodes remain present, but are coupled withhypomania instead of mania. Hypomania is a

more mild form of mania. Therefore, when onegoes from hypomania to a depressive episode,

the shift is not as great as i t would be ifexperiencing mania.

B I P O L A R I I D I S O R D E R

This is the most mild form of bipolardisorder in that those suffering experience

the same cycle present in bipolar I I disorder,but the periods of hypomania and depression

are much shorter. However, this is st i l l aserious condit ion and should be treated as

such.

C Y C L O T H Y M I C D I S O R D E R

This is , as the name suggests, a form of thedisorder characterized by a combination ofsymptoms. A person suffering from mixed

features may be both depressed and manic atthe same t ime, or may also have excess

energy while experiencing a lack of propersleep.

M I X E D F E A T U R E S

People experiencing this form of bipolardisorder wi l l cycle through manic and

depressive episodes that last for only a setnumber of days or hours, as opposed to theother forms in which episodes can last for

months.

R A P I D - C Y C L I N G

For more information on bipolardisorder, visit:

http://herricklipton.net/the-symptoms-and-behaviors-of-bipolar-

disorder/