Bipolar Disorder

ManicDepression is also known as bipolar affective disorder or bipolar. Patient swings between mania and depression. Leading cause of death among manic depressives is suicide.

: Leading non-natural cause?

BipolarDisorder means you switch between extremes for no apparent reason with a wavelength of less than an hour.

: BipolarDisorder is not MoodSwings?. Mood lability (over-responsiveness to events) more often characterizes BorderlinePersonalityDisorder?. Mood episodes in BipolarDisorders? are usually extended; more than four a year already entails the label "rapid cycling" and requires different treatment.

MD means over many days you have a neurotic feedback loop from Crime to Guilt to Depression and back to Crime. Like SonOfSam?.

Really? I thought that BP wasn't around until the latest DSM, at which time MD was deprecated in favor of BP, meaning that they felt that BP was just a better term to express the condition based on more recent understandings. At least that is what my Psych prof said last year.

I base my research into BP entirely on the episode of ER with the professional cellist. (pronounced "chellist")

Causes

Doctors and researches don't know exactly what causes bipolar disorder. A variety of environmental factors may contribute to bipolar disorder, include: "DRUG ABUSE, AND STRESSFUL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMATIC EVENTS."

Bipolar Disorder is characterized by exaggerated mood (SWING) that may come about without warning. During the manic phase of high energy and excitement, the person may become hyper-active, talk more, and more rapidly, than normal; thinking becomes more expansive and creative; self-esteem may become elevated; they sleep less, and don't miss it. Risk-taking or extreme spending-sprees are also hallmarks of the manic phase. Then without a sign they may go into depression suddenly.

I always thought ManicDepression was a totally awesome JimiHendrix? cut in 3/4 time on AreYouExperienced?.

Patient Testimonials

My understanding is that a diagnosis of bi-polar disorder doesn't come with any description of the frequency of depression/mania cycles.

From personal experience, the cycles can be extremely irregular and erratic. While my bouts of mania are short enough to, essentially be ignorable (hours to a couple of days) the depressions between them can last anything up to years. Hence my diagnosis of unipolar depression, although I'm sure if you ask the people who know me they'll have seen me switch between the states at frequencies of a few minutes.

In a way, I miss the mania now that I've been calmed down by the medication. It was when I was at my most creative, when I could achieve things. I never found it uncomfortable or wrong. Depression feels wrong - there have been entire weeks when I've barely got out of bed and that feels terrible. I don't miss that at all, but I miss the creativity and excitement that used to be part of my life.

What I don't miss is the societal judgment that depressives need to "snap out of it". The leading cause of death amongst bi-polars is more probably "suicide after having been told they need to 'just stop feeling sorry for yourself' once too often" but that won't fit on the death certificate.

Depressed people don't need those around them telling them how they ought to feel or should feel or to try and analyse why they're feeling the way they do. None of that helps. They need someone to make sure they eat enough and make sure they take the right medication and to hold them when they cry and to be there when they have brighter moments. And yes, to keep an eye on them, just in case.

-- KatieLucas

Amen. My cycles are erratic but pretty short (lasting from some hours to a couple of days). But whenever I'm depressed I hate people telling me to feel better, as if it's a matter of really wanting it, or trying to cheer me up and see the glass half-full. It never helps saying "everything will be all right," except when the depressed person asks for it. Wanna help? Give him/her solutions to his/her problems, but not lame ideas (e.g., go live in the mountains, give it some time), instead of saying how things could be worse or how it happens with everyone. Don't judge, just hold.

I agree, I can't really determine how long I have been depressed, although I was diagnosed a little over a year ago. I have made the most progress by leaving the past behind me. I would (still do) feel guilt over past actions that have no affect on today. You can learn from mistakes, but don't need to carry guilt forever. I do my best to redirect the cynical voice within. Taking positive action results in positive emotions. The more I do the better I feel. It is so hard to get going. All my energy seems gone, but it must be done. Live now, or die a little every day. -- Miguel Rivera

After living in denial for years, I finally had a manic phase that hospitalized me and for some funny reason caused about ten police cruisers to chase me down the highway. It's kind of odd hearing what I was going through fitting so perfectly with bipolar disorder. Even so, I still think I'm Jesus Christ on a mission to start a proletarian revolution :-P -- MichaelLidman

Hey, me too. We should find each other and make a true economy, rather than this system of chrematistics. -- MarkJanssen

I'm not bipolar or the like but maybe my wife was when we got together. There were long and deep depths but there were also strong hights. I always felt the strength in her and didn't see her depression as something wrong or ill but rather as a consequence of her bad childhood and youth experiences. Some of her strengths resulted out of this e.g. her discipline, her planning and her private story-telling. And I also learned to value her strong reactions to small disturbances of any order - it allows to clearly do something about it and to improve. Her depression has since almost disappeared and depths occur only occassionally - mostly related to feelings of disaffirmation (not sure how to describe) - which results in heated conflict - and resolution.

So I think that this is not strictly a disorder but basically a natural reaction to inappropriate conditions. People should really rather help and support (as asked above) instead of diminishing this disorder. It will disappear without medication when the circumstances are rectified. But maybe our society has a disorder which causes such circumstances to happen a lot. So maybe rather the society should be cured. And curing the depressed with medication is only dealing with symptoms. So I can understand Michael quite well.

I hope you (Katie, Miguel and Michael) find somebody who supports you in your right cause, who steers you into clearer waters and who comforts you in the dark passages.

-- GunnarZarncke

"It will disappear without medication when the circumstances are rectified."

No, it won't. If it did, it wasn't bipolar disorder. That's what distinguishes bipolar disorder -- which is a medical condition that may be mediated, but not cured, via a variety of therapeutic mechanisms -- from being "moody". Obviously, the symptoms may be exacerbated or reduced by psychological state and circumstances, but that is true of many if not all illnesses.

I can testify (from personal experience) to the fact that it is Hell for those that have/are/were/will be working/living with/married to/etc. any individual with any form of this disorder, and there are many degrees of, and forms of, it. All suck for those around the ill individual. Many families/employers/friends try to suck-it-up and make excuses/allowances for these individuals, but the truth is that it helps no one and injures/abuses all including the ill individual.

CategoryPsychology