Bipolar Disorder
Definition
Bipolar disorder is a mental condition that usually involves extreme mood swings. A person with the condition may feel happy and excited at one moment and depressed the next. The disorder was once called manic-depression. Mania is a mental disorder characterized by great excitement and sometimes uncontrolled, violent behavior. Depression (see depressive disorders entry) is characterized by persistent and long-term sadness or despair.
Description
Bipolar disorder affects about two million Americans. The average age at which the disorder first appears is between adolescence and the midtwenties. Sometimes a correct diagnosis of the disorder is not made for years. It is complex and difficult to identify. In one study of bipolar disorder patients, half said that they saw three or more doctors before receiving a correct diagnosis. Over one third waited more than ten years before their condition was recognized.
Psychiatrists list four types of bipolar disorder. The four types differ largely on three factors. One factor is whether mania (the highs) or depression (the lows) is more common in the patient. The second factor is how serious each condition is. The third factor is how fast the patient alternates between stages.
Patients with bipolar I disorder, for example, have extreme high periods with relatively moderate periods of depression.
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