7 Things You Never Knew About Bipolar Disorder
For many people, the word "bipolar" conjures up images of someone who is constantly on the edge: a person with no sense of balance or boundaries, and one who can't be trusted. Yet bipolar disorder is not what we see in the media; it's not what we read about in books and on blogs.
Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition that causes extreme shifts in mood, energy, and activity levels. It can cause severe disruptions in your life—both personal and professional.
But it doesn't have to control you! Bipolar disorder can be managed with the right treatment plan and support network.
What is Bipolar Disorder?
Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition that causes people to experience drastic mood swings, from high and energized states (known as "mania") to deep lows.
There is no one single cause for bipolar disorder – it can be caused by a number of different things, including life events and genetics.
Bipolar disorder is a mental health disorder that causes extreme mood swings in the sufferer’s life. It can feel like you are on an emotional roller coaster, where you can go from feeling happy to feeling depressed within just a few months or just a few minutes.
This condition is very different from the typical idea of what bipolar disorder is- that it’s someone with no sense of balance or stability.
In reality, though, this is not the case. Mental disorders are not just one thing. They are complex and nuanced. Bipolar disorder can also manifest in many other forms, such as paranoia or hallucinations- something that people wouldn't normally associate with bipolar disorder without understanding it more fully first.
How Does Bipolar Affect Your Daily Life?
Bipolar disorder is a mental condition in which a person has mood swings from deep depression to periods of mania, characterized by excessive energy and an exaggerated sense of self-worth. The symptoms can be severe enough to cause disability.
In bipolar disorder, the mood swings between these two extremes are unpredictable and significant enough that they have a serious impact on relationships with others.
Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder that affects people in different ways. It’s important to know and understand the symptoms of bipolar disorder in order to get treatment. The symptoms can range from mild to severe, depending on how often they occur.
The most commonly reported symptoms are mania and depression, but there are many other possible symptoms that may depend on which stage of the illness the person is in.
When someone has manic periods, they can be more confident and outgoing than usual, have more energy than usual, have racing thoughts, make plans faster than they usually would, sleep less than usual or not need any sleep at all at night
Manic episodes often involve feelings of elation, grandiosity, impulsiveness, and excessive risk-taking behaviors which might lead to dangerous consequences such as substance abuse or promiscuity.
Depressive episodes often involve feelings of sadness, hopelessness, guilt, and worthlessness as well as fatigue and changes in eating habits that can lead to chronic health problems such as obesity or diabetes.
One of the most common symptoms of mania is feeling very irritable and on edge which can cause interpersonal conflicts at home or at work
Can You Tell If Someone Is Suffering From Bipolar Disorder?
There are many warning signs of bipolar disorder. The most prominent are changes in moods and behaviors. These changes include being easily irritated or extremely happy for no reason at all.
One of the most pressing questions to ask someone who may be suffering from this disorder is if they have ever experienced two very different moods within 24 hours or less. This can be a sign that the person has bipolar disorder because their brain operates on rapid fast cycles rather than slow ones like people without the disorder.
There are some factors that can help you spot if someone is suffering from bipolar disorder:
Behavior: One of the factors that usually tell if someone has bipolar disorder is their behavior and if it changes drastically or without any reason over time. This can be accompanied by any of the following: talking too much without managing to stick to a topic, racing thoughts that distract from main goals and causes distractibility.
Mood: Another factor that can help you spot a bipolar disorder is how they feel as opposed to how they behave as the two often differ. A person with bipolar disorder may seem sad even when they are happy. They may experience severe mood swings which include periods of intense sadness, elation, and irritability.
Suicidal thoughts: People with bipolar disorder are at greater risk of having suicidal thoughts compared to people without the condition. If you have suicidal thoughts, please call 911 or nearest emergency or hospital.
Bipolar Disorder is Difficult to Diagnose in Children & Teens
Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that causes episodes of mania and depression. It is difficult to diagnose in children and teens because they cannot always articulate what they are feeling.
Symptoms in children may be different than that of adults. A diagnosis in children can be difficult because the behavioral patterns that indicate bipolar disorder are not well understood by doctors or parents. It is often not noticed until an adult thinks back on their childhood and realizes that there were signs early on.
A person with bipolar disorder may go for more than a year without knowing that he or she has bipolar disorder because mood swings can be so subtle at first.
In contrast to this, a common way to diagnose bipolar disorder in adults is through a checklist of questions. Doctors will ask patients about their moods, behavior, and thoughts. The most common way to diagnose the condition in children and teens is also by using a checklist of questions. Doctors will ask children and teens about their moods, behavior, and thoughts.
Children and teens with bipolar disorder may have trouble controlling their emotions, they may have outbursts or tantrums, they may become aggressive or even violent, they may show no expression of emotion at all, and they may seem sad most of the time for no obvious reason.
7 Things You Never Knew About Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition. Individuals who experience it will have periods of feeling unusually high and others feeling unusually low. It's not just an emotional state or personality trait.
Here are some things that you may not have known about bipolar disorder.
Bipolar disorder can affect anyone, not just people who are creative or intelligent.
Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that can affect anyone, not just people who are creative or intelligent. Contrary to popular belief, bipolar is not a mood disorder, but rather a disorder of the brain's mood regulating system. Bipolar disorder affects males and females equally and can be diagnosed when an individual experiences extreme changes in behavior from high-energy periods to low-energy periods.
Bipolar disorder is often misdiagnosed as major depression
These two conditions share many of the same symptoms early on in the course of the illness. The severity of major depression and bipolar disorder can vary from person to person, but the two conditions have many of the same symptoms early on in the course of the illness. The most common mistake made is mistaking a major depressive episode for a hypomanic or manic episode.
Sleep disturbance
People with bipolar disorder have a hard time managing their sleep schedule. During periods of mania, they may sleep too little, and during periods of depression they may sleep too much. This can be a difficult cycle to break and can lead to a variety of negative consequences such as increased risk for developing diabetes or heart disease.
It's harder to diagnose bipolar disorder in children
Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that causes extreme mood swings. This means that a person can go from being happy and excited to being sad and hopeless within minutes. Bipolar disorder is more difficult to identify in children than it is in adults.
Your family, life events, and health can increase your risk.
Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that causes mood swings. These mood swings can be either manic episodes or depressive episodes. Mood swings can affect your work, social life, and family life.
Symptoms can worsen during pregnancy.
Women with Bipolar disorder may struggle with severe mood swings during pregnancy. This can be a difficult time for both mother and child if not properly managed. Signs of a woman who may have bipolar disorder during pregnancy may include extreme highs and lows, a lack of interest in life, changes in sleep patterns, or an excessive need for sleep.
No two people experience bipolar disorder in the exact same way.
Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depressive illness, is a mental health condition that tends to run in families. Bipolar disorder is typically characterized by cycles of highs (mania) and lows (depression), which can last for days or weeks at a time.
Bipolar typically changes from person to person, but a common pattern is that a person will have a few episodes of symptoms every few years. They last for a few months each time.
How We Can Help
If you are seeking professional help, Trust Mental Health can match you with a professional therapist that can help you work through Bipolar Disorder. Our therapists come from a wide array of backgrounds and can speak many languages. Set up a free consultation with us to learn more.