What exactly is bipolar

What exactly is bipolar?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090415173957AAe6zM7

Bipolar has another name, manic depression. Manic depression is characterized by the experience of extremely severe mood swings. Lows that feel as if they will never end, and as if you just wish you could just fall into a black hole and nev…

What exactly is bipolar disorder?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080515194447AAh1c3O

first of all, there is depression. That is when your mood is down, your sad, your moving slow, you may be tired all the time and want to stay in bed. The opposite of depression is manic. That is when your mood is up, you can’t sit still, yo…

Is bipolar a trouble giving disorder? What exactly does it feel l…?

http://www.imedix.com/health_community/q107985_bipolar_a_trouble_giving_disorder_exactly_feel_like

Dear Mickey, a bipolar friend of mine described life as either slow or exhausting depending on which part of the illness she was in. If she is in the manic cycle everyone else seems to think and move slowly and it makes her irritable, but s…

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What exactly is bipolar disorder and the symptoms?

Q: I have read that it causes highs and lows. What exactly does that mean when you have highs and lows. Can someone give me a detailed and easy-to-understand explanation of bipolar disorder? Thanks in advance.

A: Bipolar is one of the types of mood disorder associated with brain. It causes unusual shifts in energy, mood and ability of a person. It is also referred to as maniac depression. It involves recurrent episodes of depression and mania, which recur across the lifespan. A person suffering from bipolar disease often experiences mood instability, depression and extreme mood swings. One time, they may feel very sad, worthless, helpless, despairing and hopeless and another time, they may feel like creative, hyperactive and on the top of the world. This disease is named as bipolar disorder because the mood of a person with bipolar disorder alternates between totally different extremities, such as extreme sadness and euphoric happiness. There are two types of bipolar disorder such as Bipolar I disorder and Bipolar II disorder. The first type involves episodes of severe mood swings, while the second type is a milder form. Cyclothymia is a mild bipolar disorder. Causes of Bipolar Disorder The exact cause of bipolar disorder is not known. However, various genetic, biochemical and environmental factors are supposed to be involved in triggering bipolar disorder. People with bipolar disorder have some physical and chemical changes in the brain. Neurotransmitters, naturally occurring brain chemicals, contribute in developing bipolar disorder. Hormonal imbalance is also responsible for this disorder. This disease may be due to a combination of multiple genetic and environmental factors. Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder Symptoms of bipolar disorder are characterized by alternate patterns of depression and mania. The symptoms may vary mild to severe from person to person. There are different symptoms of bipolar disorder in maniac phase and depressive phase. Manic Phase of Bipolar Disorder A person in the maniac phase may feel very energetic, creative and hyperactive. Some of the common signs of mania are increased activity and gestures, inflated self-esteem, poor temper control, poor judgment and pressured speech. The major symptoms of manic phase are: Extreme optimism Agitation Euphoria Inflated self-esteem Rapid speech Aggressive behavior Racing thoughts Risky behavior Spending sprees Increased physical activity Increased sexual drive Increased drive to perform or achieve goals Decreased need for sleep Inability to concentrate Tendency to be easily distracted Drug abuse Depressive Phase in Bipolar Disorder Some people may experience more episodes of depressive phase than maniac phase. Some of the general signs of depression are excessive worry, sadness, crying spells and social withdrawal. Some major symptoms of depressive phase are as follows: Hopelessness Sadness Sleep problems Anxiety Irritability Guilt Appetite problems Fatigue Problems in concentration Loss of interest in daily activities Chronic pain due to unknown reason Symptoms of bipolar disorder are serious and can affect entire life of a person. Bipolar depression may result in damaged relationships, marital problems, poor performance in school or at job, and even suicide. Hence, it is very essential to seek an appropriate treatment immediately. Bipolar disorder can be diagnosed on the basis of signs and symptoms. Bipolar disorder treatment focuses on stabilizing mood swings and managing the symptoms. It can be treated with different medications such as lithium, carbamazepine, valproic acid, etc. Various therapies such as psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, family therapy and group therapy are found to be helpful the people with bipolar disorder. By Reshma Jirage Published: 11/13/2008  

what is bipolar 2 exactly and what is the difference between bipolar 1 and 2?

Q: I have been diagnosed with bipolar and whenever people find that out, they ask me if i have bipolar 1 or 2. i don’t know what the difference is so i don’t know how to answer… please help.

A: This is what it is like to have a true manic episode – hypomania is similar but not nearly so extreme. Hypomania can be very pleasant as it just feels like you are happier, more alert, have more energy, are more sexual….. just not this extreme. If you have had an episond like this you are bipolar 1, if not you are bipolar 2.* FEELING EXTREMELY HAPPY OR IRITABLE* Like you just won the lottery or like your boss just cut your pay in half so he could give his daughter a raise but the feelings go on and on for weeks or months.*INFLATED SELF ESTEEM* Believe that everyone loves you, everyone knows how smart, funny, pretty, sexy, you are. Think you are so good you can do anything.* REDUCED NEED FOR SLEEP* 2 to 3 hours of sleep a night for weeks or months and you are never tired.* TALK FASTER AND MORE THAN USUAL* Ramble on and on but the talk may be disjointed because thoughts are going by so fast you can’t get them out fast enough. It’s called pressured speech.* BE MORE ACTIVE THAN USUAL* Needing to run 10 miles a day when you never used to even jog. Taking up 5 new hobbies.* RACING THOUGHTS* Can be seen as confusion. It’s very confusing because your thought go by so fast and you have no control over them it’s like having 10 people all shouting at you at the same time.* BE EASILY DISTRACTED BY SIGHTS AND SOUNDS* Ohhhh bright and shiny things. 🙂 Because you have ceased to even try to listen to your own thoughts.* ACT IMPULSIVELY, DO RECKLESS THINGS, REDUCED INHIBITION, SPENDING SPREES* Spending the mortgage money on furniture, buying 25 books about penguins because wouldn’t it be cute if they could be a colony,* DRIVE RECKLESSLY* 120 mph down back roads with the radio blaring and not really paying attention to the road because of all the bright shiny things, *GET INTO FOOLISH BUSINESS VENTURES* cashing out your 401k to invest in a worm farm or going deep into debt so you can gamble because you know you will win, *HAVE FREQUENT, INDISCRIMINATE, OR UNSAFE SEX* like sex with strangers (without a condom) or with your sisters husband or your husbands sister. Suddenly decide you are gay because the opportunity for twice as much sex is there…… Oh my I didn’t know I was into BDSM before… tie me up and flog me baby.I am Bipolar 1 and these are all things I have one while manic and that’s just a few of them.

So what exactly is ADD, ADHD, and bipolar disorder?

Q: ADD is when you get distracted a lot or something, right…? So what’s the difference between attention dephasite(?) disorder and ADHD? (What does the H stand for?)And I hear that a lot of people with bipolar are misdiagnosed as ADD. Is this true? What exactly is bipolar, and how do they mix the two up?

A: H stands for Hyperactivity.ADHD is usually diagnosed in childhood.Bipolar Disorder is usually diagnosed in adulthood.Please note, this is just my opinion, but I’m not sure there is that much of a difference. Psychiatric diagnoses are pretty subjective. They are diagnosed according to the individual’s behavior. If typical ADHD meds don’t work on somebody, then maybe it’s Bipolar Disorder so they try some meds used for that diagnosis. It’s usually better not to stick a child with a Bipolar diagnosis because the medications are stronger. Hopefully, most doctors won’t do that unless they tried every ADHD med and none of them worked. A couple of possible differences are as follows: ADHD doesn’t include obvious symptoms of depression. But, poor concentration (attention deficit) can be caused by depression. The symptoms can be very similar. Mania is a lot like Hyperactivity, but it is generally considered more severe, and can last for days while Hyperactivity is usually in short bursts. But, how do we know Hyperactivity isn’t just a mild form of Mania? I work for a mental health agency and we have a lot of clients who are diagnosed with both ADHD and Bipolar Disorder. How do they tell when somebody has both? I have no idea; I guess it usually means ADHD was diagnosed first and Bipolar was diagnosed later on.