Many people do not know the signs of Bipolar Disorder and because of it many people do not get the necessary treatment they need to have normal productive lives. Bipolar Disorder is a mental illness, which impacts the daily functioning of life; it can severely put a damper on social relationships, family lives, work and other obligations. People with this disorder go through a series of mood changes from very depressed to very elated and feeling they are super people who can take on the world. Though everyone can experience mood swings for various reasons, from different types of medical conditions, social situations, and hormonal changes in the body, bipolar mood swings are very debilitating often causing people to bounce back and forth from a good mood to a depressed mood with what might seem to be no time at all.
You cannot just will these moods away, they are product of mental illness and they require medication and therapy. People with Bipolar Disorder when treated and managed can live normal lives without too much disruption caused by their disability.
What are some of the signs and symptoms of this disorder that can alert individuals who suspect that they may have or a member of their families may have Bipolar Disorder?
Bipolar Disorder will be different in different people, some people will have more manic episodes where they are having great moods more than anything else, and others may have unipolar moods meaning they have only one of the two mood extremes, of mania or depression. Depression as a unipolar phase must have included at least one manic episode in a lifetime to differentiate it from major depression. Some people will experience rapid mood changes, some will have gradual mood changes, some will have extreme moods and some will hardly have any serious mood swings. Still others will have a episodes of mania and depression together. Some people have many episodes and some have very few in a lifetime
Here are the symptoms of the four types of mood episodes:
Mania
The symptoms of this phase of the illness is characterized by being on high, people will talk quickly, sleep little, and their thoughts will be racing jumping from one idea to another in quick succession. They will also have trouble concentrating due to their racing thoughts. They can be creative, have big dreams and aspirations. They are high energy to the point of being hyperactive. They feel they can take on the most impossible of tasks, such as painting an entire house in a day, or starting and operating a business with a profit margin of a million dollars in a year. Though great things can be done during this phase, the estimation of what can be done is often times illogical. People experiencing mania will feel they are totally invincible and are able to do superhuman feats. It is for this reason, people in the hypermania phase of bipolar illness are often misdiagnosed for having schizophrenia because they may experience delusions and hallucinations.
Manic symptoms will also lead to irritability, annoyance with people who do not stand by their grandiose ideas, picking fights, gambling, drinking, and doing everything in excess. People going through this phase are reckless, wasteful, and totally out control.
This is milder form of mania, which just appears to be a very good mood. People experiencing these symptoms can carry on with everyday life without too much disruptions from irrational thoughts and behaviors though they still can make bad decisions based on an overly optimistic point of view.
The symptoms of bipolar depression include irritability, feeling hopeless, sad, or empty, having problems eating, sleeping too much, feeling sluggish and tired, feeling worthless and guilty, having trouble concentrating or or memory loss, and thoughts of death and suicide.
Mixed episodes
In this type of bipolar illness sufferers can experience mania, hypomania and depression all at once. This particular type of bipolar illness is very volatile and can lead to suicide if not treated.