Understanding Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder at times known as manic depression is a flummoxing, disorienting condition causing acute mood fluctuations. Bipolar disorder patients experience a roller-coaster ride of emotional highs followed by inexorable depression, the spans of highs and lows varying vastly in each case. On an average, bipolar disorder afflicts over two percent of adults in the United States.

Bipolar disorder Causes

Physicians are not precisely certain what is the reason behind bipolar disorder arising. A principal conjecture is that abnormal fluctuation of brain chemicals that causes particular chemical levels to surge leading to mania. When brain chemical levels plummet to dangerous lows then depression could arise.

Risk Factors

Bipolar disorder afflicts both genders in an equal manner with the inception of symptoms from fifteen to thirty years of age. Individuals are at an augmented risk in case a kin member has been recognized, however physicians do not deem that the condition develops on the basis of only heredity. It might take a stress-causing incident, substance abuse or other unidentified aspects for triggering the cycles of highs and lows.

Depressive Phase Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder

In the absence of treatment, bipolar disorder patients could go through acute depression episodes. Depressive Phase symptoms of bipolar disorder comprise of: feeling sad, nervous, lost energy, feeling hopeless and irrepressible weeping. Bipolar disorder patients could become disinterested in activities that formerly held importance and were gratifying. Patients could have weight loss or increase, sleep deprivation or excess sleepiness and contemplating suicide.

Manic Phase Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder

Patient in the manic phase would have a tendency of feeling euphoria and could nurse false beliefs of being capable of accomplishing anything thus resulting in pitiable judgment, soaring libido, perplexity, sleeplessness and a sense of racy thought process. Irresponsible, wild behaviorisms inclusive of money-spending binges, sexual imprudence, speedy driving and drug abuse are prevalent. People experiencing 3 or above of these symptoms almost on a daily basis for around a week’s time could be indicating a manic episode.

Bipolar I versus Bipolar II

Bipolar I disorder patients experience incidents of continued mania and mostly go through depression periods. Bipolar II disorder patients experience major depression periods with less acute mania; experiencing hypomania, a lesser acute mood that involves amplified energy, racy thought process and lesser sleep requirements. A bipolar patient could appear like being a live-wire of the party, completely charismatic and humorous. But, hypomania could eventually lead to unruly behaviorisms and is mostly ensued by bouts of depression.

Mixed Bipolar Disorder

Individuals having mixed bipolar disorder undergo mania and depressive episodes during the analogous instant. This could often lead to unanticipated behaviorisms like sobbing when one does a much favored activity. It is prevalent among individuals that have developed bipolar disorder during a young age, especially when they were adolescents. However, a number of estimations indicate that close to seventy percent of bipolar patients go through varied incidents.

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