ᶜʳᵃᶜᵏᵉᵈ | ᵇᵃᵗᶠᵃᵐᶦˡʸ

disorders | information

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the disorders |  information chapter

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bipolar disorder     /       tim drake

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what is bipolar disorder?

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Bipolar Disorder is a mental illness characterized by extreme mood changes and energy levels. To be diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder a person must have experienced at least one episode of mania or hypomania and at least two weeks of Depression. Mania or Hypomania is the elevated mood part of Bipolar Disorder; whereas Depression is the low part of the disorder. A person who suffers from Bipolar Disorder will often go through two states, a high state and a low state.

The high state is Mania or Hypomania. Mania is diagnosed by elevated mood and irritability that lasts for a minimum of one week. During the Mania or Hypomania a person is often impulsive, has extremely high self-esteem, hypersexual, abnormally upbeat, jumpy, or wired, increased activities, energy and irritability, decreased need for sleep, talkative, racing thoughts, easily distracted, poor decision-making for example, going on shopping sprees, taking sexual risks or making foolish and unnecessary investments.

Mania or Hypomania can last from either a week to months depending on the severity of the episode. If it's severe enough it can put a person in the hospital because they can't come down from the high.

A low state is Depression or Major Depressive Disorder, Depression is diagnosed when a person has the symptoms of a depressive episode for two weeks. Symptoms may include depressed mood, loss of interest in activities that used to be enjoyable, either weight loss or weight gain, difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much, apathy or agitation, loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness and guilt, inability to concentrate, thoughts of suicide, or even a suicide attempt.

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