Bipolar Disorder

Mar 22
2 min read

Updated: Apr 1

What is Bipolar Disorder?

Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition that causes extreme changes in mood. A person with bipolar disorder can go through periods of feeling very high, over energised or usually excited, which are called mania or hypomania, and also periods of feeling very low or suffer with depression. These mood changes are more intense than the usual ups and downs people have, they can affect things like sleep, energy, behaviour, concentration and everyday life. Bipolar disorder is a serious condition, but support and treatment can help manage it.

Bipolar 1, Bipolar 2 & Cyclothymia

There are 3 recognised types of Bipolar disorder, Bipolar 1, Bipolar 2 and Cyclothymia. Click the drop down items below for more information.

Bipolar 1

Is when someone has had at least one episode of mania, meaning your 'high' mood is extremely strong and can seriously affect sleep, behaviour and judgement and everyday life. A person may also have periods of depression, but the key feature is that full manic episode.

Bipolar 2

Involves episodes of depression and episodes of hypomania, which is a mild from of mania. The 'highs' are less extreme than in Bipolar 1, but they can still have a big effect on someone's life, with the low periods being very difficult.

Cyclothymia

is a milder form of Bipolar Disorder where someone has ongoing mood swings between low mood and emotional highs over a long period of time. the sypmtoms are usually not servere enough to be diagnosed as full Bipolar Disorder, but they can still affect daily life and relationships, so it still important to seek support.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNLSCuI4P0w

Mania & Hypomania

Mania and hypomania share similar symptoms. Mania is a very intense 'high mood', where hypomania feels less severe version of that 'high mood'. Below is a list of symptoms of mania and hypomania.

Feeling unusually, exicted or overly confident.
Having much more energy than normal
Feeling irritated, angry or on edge
Needing far less sleep without feeling tired
Finding it hard to focus or stay on one thing
Talking a lot more than usual, or speaking very fast
Feeling like your thoughts are racing or you mind is full of ideas
Feeling restless, fidgety or like you cannot keep still
Spending lots of money or giving money away impulsively
Noticing sounds, colours or smells more intensely
Stopping medication because you no longer feel you need it

There are several triggers that can cause you to have an episode of mania or hypomania, the most common of these is not sleeping enough, being under a lot of pressure, using drugs or alcohol, big life changes, grief or loss, and side effects of medication.