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Bipolar disorder may not be the most talked about medical condition,
but it's certainly more widespread than one would like to believe. In
fact, some people suffering from the condition aren't aware of the
same and continue leading their life carrying all the baggage
associated with the disorder. If there are fluctuations in your mood,
don't ignore the sign as it could be more than just a mood swing. It
could probably be a bipolar disorder.
So, what's bipolar disorder? Is it life-threatening? Can it be
reversed? Read on to learn everything you should probably know about
the condition.

What is Bipolar Disorder?

Also called manic-depressive illness, bipolar disorder is a brain
disease causing unusual fluctuations in energy, mood, activity levels,
and general functioning abilities. If you are suffering from this
disease, you'd quite likely undergo these phases, such as:

• Feeling high (hypomanic or manic episodes)
• Feeling low (depressive episodes)
• Psychotic behavioral tendencies during depressed or manic episodes

These different feelings are called mood states.

Distinguishing Between Regular Mood Swings and Bipolar Disorder
There are three primary elements differentiating bipolar disorder from
regular mood swings:

• Intensity: Bipolar disorder-accompanied mood swings are much severe
compared to normal mood swings.

• Duration: A bad mental state disappears in days, but depression or
mania could last several weeks or months. Rapid cycling ensures moods
survive a short period but quickly oscillate between various extremes.
• Interference levels: The mood extremes accompanying bipolar disorder
could significantly disrupt routine life. For instance, depression
could render an individual unable to hop out of bed for work, or stay
restless for days together.

Symptoms

Bipolar disorder is often marked by major mood swings. These could
range from mania (extreme highs) to depression (extreme lows). These
episodes of depression and mania could last for many weeks or months.

Depression:

The depression phase symptoms include:
• Feeling hopeless, sad or irritable almost every time
• Difficulty remembering and concentrating on things
• Lacking energy
• Zero interest in everyday activities
• Feelings of worthlessness or emptiness
• Feelings of despair and guilt
• A pessimistic attitude towards everything
• Self-suspicion
• Having hallucinations and illogical or disturbed thinking
• Appetite loss
• Sleeping difficulties
• Suicidal thoughts
• Frequently getting up in the wee hours of the morning

Mania:

Bipolar disorder's manic phase could be characterized by:
• Feeling elated, overjoyed or very happy
• Talking rapidly
• Feeling energy-filled
• Recognizing self-importance
• Feeling replete with fresh plans and developing important plans
• Getting easily distracted
• Getting easily agitated or irritated
• Unable to eat
• Lack of sleep
• Indulging in activities that may lead to dangerous consequences -
for instance, spending excessively on expensive and at times
unaffordable goods
• Uttering words or doing things out of character, which others may
perceive as harmful or risky
Mania and Depression Patterns:
If you're suffering from bipolar disorder, you could have more periods
of depression than mania, or vice-versa. Between the mania and
depression episodes, you could at times have moments of "normal" mood
too.

This pattern isn't standard and varies across individuals:
• Rapid cycling - developing several mood swing periods in a year,
with partial or full symptom remission in between hypomanic, manic or
major depressive periods.

• Mixed state - wherein an individual with the disorder undergoes
mania and depression symptoms at the same time; for instance, overactivity
with a saddened mood.
If the mood swings are long enough but not too severe to be classified
as bipolar disorder, a cyclothymia diagnosis is possible.

Other Symptoms:

• Anxious distress: developing anxiety, like feeling restless or
tense, keyed up, having issues concentrating due to worries, feeling
paranoid, or fearing a possible lack of self-control.
• Mixed features: meeting a hypomanic or manic episode criteria, but
also suffering from all or some major depressive symptoms.
• Melancholic features: losing pleasure in most or all activities and
no feelings of happiness even during joyful or happy moments.
• Atypical features: going through symptoms not synonymous of major
depressive periods.
• Catatonia: zero reaction or response to the environment, unusual
body positions, not communicating, and/or mimicking another
individual's movement or speech.
• Peripartum onset: symptoms of bipolar disorder that happen during
pregnancy or within a month immediately post-delivery.
• Seasonal pattern: a lifelong pattern of hypomanic, manic or major
depressive periods that alter according to seasons.
• Psychosis: severe period of either depression or mania that leads to
a detachment from real life.

Causes

Bipolar disorder's exact cause is unclear. But there could be quite a
few factors contributing to the condition. Let's take a look at all of
them:

Brain Balance and Chemistry:

People suffering from biological disorder tend to have their brain's
physical structure altered. The importance of these alterations is not
certain yet but could pinpoint to specific causes in the future.
An imbalance in neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) probably plays a
major role in several mood disorders such as bipolar disorder.
According to evidence, bipolar disorder could be remedied with
specific psychiatric medications that are known for acting on the
neurotransmitters in the brain. This indicates bipolar disorder could
be connected to issues with neurotransmitters' function, and there is
some degree of research supporting this.

For instance, there is evidence that mania episodes could happen when
noradrenaline levels are excessively high, and depression episodes
could be causing the noradrenaline levels to go too low.


Inherited Characteristics:
Generally, bipolar disorder is likely in individuals who have a close
family member, like a parent or sibling, suffering from the condition.
However, research is currently in progress to determine the genes
responsible for the bipolar disorder.
There is no particular gene that can be blamed for causing the
disorder. Rather, several environmental and genetic factors are
believed to function as triggers.
Role of Drugs:
Drugs, alcohol or medication don't cause bipolar disorder on their
own, but their usage could result in bipolar symptoms and moods. For
instance:
• Some antidepressants could cause hypomania or mania as a negative
effect. If you start experiencing them post administering
antidepressants, your doctor may not be able to perform an accurate
bipolar disorder diagnosis. However, in case of these pills, it's
worth waiting and finding out if the symptoms disappear sans any
treatment.

• Street drugs or alcohol could lead to indications similar to
depression and mania. Often, it could be tough to differentiate the
effects of drugs and alcohol from the mental health signs.

Childhood Trauma:

According to some experts, a bipolar disorder condition is possible if
the person has had an emotionally distressful growth period. The
distress could be parental neglect, physical or sexual abuse,
traumatic incidents, loss of a family member such as a parent.
All these negative emotions play a part in bipolar disorder
development because all the distress and trauma during childhood may
hinder the ability to regulate emotions later on in life.
Stressful Events in Adulthood:
Bipolar disorder symptoms could also be linked to stressful phases
during adulthood, such as:
• Poverty and financial issues
• A personal relationship breakdown
• A traumatic personal loss

tThough lower stress levels are not likely to lead to bipolar disorder,
they could instigate a period of depression or mania. Also, bipolar
disorder could be triggered by:
• Sleep disturbances
• Physical illness
• Overwhelming issues in routine life - for instance, issues at the
workplace

Self-Esteem Problems:

As per some researchers, people who are depressed or have low selfesteem
issues tend to see a manic episode as an exit point or escape
from the self-misery. In fact, the mania may end up boosting one's
self-confidence during periods of emotional lows.
Types
There are multiple bipolar disorder types. Each variety has its own
frequency, length and pattern of depression and mania-filled episodes.

• Bipolar I Disorder

Also called manic depression or manic depressive disorder, bipolar I
disorder generally entails a couple of mixed or manic episodes
(wherein one experiences signs of both depression and mania).
Generally, an individual suffering from bipolar I disorder would
undergo depression periods too. Often, there's a cycling pattern
between depression and mania. And this is why bipolar I disorder is
also called manic depression. Between episodes of depression and
mania, many individuals suffering from this disorder can lead a normal
life.

• Bipolar II Disorder
Bipolar II diagnosis is confirmed post a couple of major depressive
episodes, along with one hypomania episode, with likely level mood
periods between episodes. The bipolar II highs are referred to as
hypomanias. At times, bipolar II disorder is misdiagnosed as
significant depression if the hypomanic phases go unreported or
unrecognized.

• Not Otherwise Specified (NOS)
Bipolar disorder not following a specific pattern (for instance,
recurring hypomanic episodes sans depressive symptoms, or extremely
rapid swings between a few symptoms of depression and mania) is
referred to as bipolar disorder NOS.

• Cyclothymia
Cyclothymia is a minor bipolar disorder that's characterized by
multiple hypomanic episodes and milder depression episodes that keep
alternating for two years at least. The illness' severity could adjust
with time.