Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar Disorder used to be called manic-depression and is still a good description of the disorder as often the mood swings can be either mania or depression or mixed. For an overall description of Bipolar Disorder, see the previous post here.
These are the symptoms associated with Mania and Depression:
Mania
- Abnormal or excessive elation
- Unusual irritability (Hypomanic)
- Decreased need for sleep
- Grandiose notions
- Increased talking
- Racing thoughts
- Increased sexual desire (Hypersexual)
- Markedly increased energy
- Poor judgement
- Inappropriate social behavior
Depression
- Persistent sad, anxious, or empty mood
- Feelings of hopelessness, pessimism
- Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness
- Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities that were once enjoyed, including sex (Anhedonia)
- Decreased energy, fatigue, being “slowed down”
- Difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions
- Insomnia, early-morning awakening, or oversleeping
- Appetite and/or weight loss or overeating and weight gain
- Thoughts of death or suicide; suicide attempts
- Restlessness, irritability
- Persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to treatment, such as headaches, digestive disorders, and chronic pain
Some types of depression run in families, suggesting that a biological vulnerability can be inherited. This seems to be the case with bipolar disorder. Studies of families in which members of each generation develop bipolar disorder found that those with the illness have a somewhat different genetic makeup than those who do not get ill. However, the reverse is not true: not everyone with the genetic makeup that causes vulnerability to bipolar disorder will have the illness. Apparently additional factors, possibly stresses at home, work, or school, are involved in its onset.
We will discuss treatment for bipolar disorder in a subsequent post.
