Bipolar Disorder

Depression can happen to anyone, but there are different episodes that are diagnosed differently depending on the characteristics of emotions the person is going through.  It can be a mild depression or can be diagnosed as a severe disorder.  Some learn to cope with their illness and others go through denial believe it will go away on its own. 

A bipolar disorder is a manic-depressive illness, which causes unusual shifts of mood, energy, excitement, rambling speech, and the inability to go on with their normal daily tasks.  Some believe a bipolar disorder is usually heavy mood swings but it is actually more than that.  Someone diagnosed with bipolar disorder can be a danger to themselves and others.  It needs to be treated and observed at all times to avoid any episodes.  It usually begins in adult years before age 30 but it can happen to anybody, even young children or teenagers.  Children and teenagers can be diagnosed to bipolar disorder if any of their parents had bipolar disorder.  It goes by many names, such as, manic depression, bipolar mood disorder, or manic depressive disorder.  It is a manic-depressive illness due to the extreme mood changes from one minute to the other.  Sometimes they can be so happy and excited and suddenly their mood changes completely it gives a complete turnaround.   Since the patterns of their moods are not leveled it is a complex disorder to diagnose the first time. 

Bipolar disorder is classified in two categories:  bipolar I disorder and bipolar II disorder.  Bipolar I are episodes has manic episodes.  It also includes psychotic symptoms. In Bipolar II disorder there are hypomanic, milder manic, episodes.  This classification is less severe than Bipolar I because it does not have psychotic episodes or hallucinations. 

Even though this disorder sounds hectic because a person never knows when their emotion will change, it is still treatable and someone can live their life normal as anybody else but treatment is necessary.  The first medications given to someone diagnosed with bipolar disorder are mood stabilizing medications such as lithium.  There is no cure for bipolar disorder but treatment is available to control episodes. 

Here is a video of someone who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and he describes how his life came to be with this illness.