Mood Swings

One of the easiest ways to define bipolar disorder, or manic-depression, is to explain that a person experiences extreme mood swings. It is said that the highs are “too high,” and the lows are “too low.” Someone who gets overly excited by shopping, drinking, or having sex, may also experience episodes of severe depression almost instantly following the event. For example, someone who gets very excited shopping and spends a great deal of money may experience feelings of guilt and disgust before they pull into their driveway with the trunk full of new clothes.

Depression

There are varying degrees of depression, ranging from relatively minor cases (referred to as the “blues”) to increasingly intense feelings. To define bipolar disorder, a doctor or psychiatric may mention that it is caused by a chemical imbalance, often experienced in adulthood that may have different symptoms. These symptoms may include hearing voices, hallucinating, or talking about committing suicide. To define bipolar disorder, the doctor will explain that these feelings must occur for a few days or weeks during the year, and last for differing periods of time.

Mania

To further define bipolar disorder, a doctor must hear about periods of extreme excitement. One area of bipolar disease does not include excitement, or mania. Depending on the attempt to define bipolar disorder as bipolar I and bipolar II, doctors look for a patient who may get extremely “high” during appropriate or inappropriate periods of time. Many people with bipolar disorder may get overly excited before a trip, meeting the family or a long-time friend, during shopping sprees, or while engaging in dangerous or otherwise unsafe sexual liaisons, etc.

Men vs. Women

When attempting to define bipolar disease, it is invaluable to learn of other treatments or symptoms that have been identified or treated during the life of a patient. Since the diagnosis of bipolarity is often misunderstood, there is a need to look at the whole picture, and to hear from other people in the patient’s life. 

Numbers

Many studies have been reviewed and created to define bipolar disease, and results indicate that over 4.3 million Americans (approximately one percent) may suffer from bipolarity of one sort or another. In some cases, patients who exhibit minor types of bipolar behavior that affects their daily routine in lesser forms are not brought to the attention of the medical community.

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