Bipolar disorder is a mental illness marked by extreme shifts in mood. Symptoms can include an extremely elevated mood called mania. They can also include episodes of depression. Bipolar disorder is also known as bipolar disease or manic depression.
People with bipolar disorder may have trouble managing everyday life tasks at school or work, or maintaining relationships. There’s no cure, but there are many treatment options available that can help to manage the symptoms. During a manic or hypomanic phase, bipolar symptoms include:
heightened sense of self-importance
exaggerated positive outlook
significantly decreased need for sleep
poor appetite and weight loss
racing speech, flight of ideas, impulsiveness
ideas that move quickly from one subject to the next
poor concentration, easily distracted
increased activity level
excessive involvement in pleasurable activities
poor financial choices, rash spending sprees
excessive irritability, aggressive behavior
During a depressed phase, bipolar symptoms include:
feelings of sadness or hopelessness
loss of interest in pleasurable or usual activities
difficulty sleeping; early-morning awakening
loss of energy and constant lethargy
sense of guilt or low self-esteem
difficulty concentrating
negative thoughts about the future
weight gain or weight loss
talk of suicide or death
The main method used to diagnose bipolar is a thorough clinical interview with a psychiatrist, psychologist, or other mental health specialist (Fink & Kraynak, 2015). Although there are written methods for documenting the severity and number of symptoms, those tests only complement a complete interview. They do not substitute for a face-to-face evaluation by a professional. Like all mental disorders, there are not yet any blood tests or other biological tests that can be used to diagnose bipolar disorder.
An early bipolar symptom may be hypomania - an emotional state in which the person shows a high level of energy, excessive moodiness or irritability, and impulsive or reckless behavior for at least four (4) consecutive days. The symptoms associated with hypomania tend to feel good, and so many times the person seeks to minimize the symptoms to others. Even when family and friends learn to recognize the mood swings, the individual may deny - or may not even realize - that anything is wrong.
One of the usual differential diagnoses for this condition is that the bipolar symptoms are not better accounted for by schizoaffective disorder and is not superimposed on schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, delusional disorder, or other psychotic spectrum disorders.
And as with nearly all mental disorder diagnoses, the symptoms of manic depression must cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. Bipolar symptoms also can not be the result of substance use or abuse (e.g., alcohol, drugs, medications) or caused by a general medical condition.