Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder characterized by periods of mania and depression. During manic phases, individuals experience elevated mood, hyperactivity, and reckless behavior. Depressed phases involve feelings of worthlessness, fatigue, and suicidal thoughts. Bipolar disorder is caused by biological and genetic factors and can be triggered by stress, with symptoms beginning most often between ages 15-25. Treatment involves medications like mood stabilizers and antipsychotics as well as psychotherapy and lifestyle changes.

1. Bipolar Disorder

2. Definition
• defined in the text as “a mood disorder in which the person alternates
between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the
overexcited state of mania
• the "mood swings" between mania and depression can be very abrupt

3. Manic phase
• elevated mood (hyperactivity, increased energy, lack of self-control, racing
thoughts)
• inflated self-esteem (false beliefs in special abilities)
• extreme optimism
• agitation or irritation
• little need for sleep
• over-involvement in activities
• poor temper control
• reckless behavior (binge eating, drinking, drug use; impaired judgment, sexual
promiscuity, spending sprees)
• tendency to be easily distracted; poor performance at work at school
• rapid speech

5. Depressed phase
• difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions
• eating disturbances (weight loss or weight gain)
• fatigue or listlessness
• feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness and/or guilt
• loss of self-esteem
• persistent sadness/thoughts of death
• sleep disturbances (excessive sleepiness or inability to sleep)
• suicidal thoughts
• withdrawal from activities once enjoyed/withdrawal from friends
• anxiety/guilt
• chronic pain without a known cause

7. Other signs and
symptoms
• seasonal changes in mood (manic or hypomanic in spring/summer; depressed
in fall/winter) *can be reversed
• rapid cycling bipolar disorder (rapid mood shifts > 4 or more mood swings
within a single year; in some people within just hours)
• psychosis (detachment from reality) - delusions or hallucinations
• most common symptoms in children: explosive temper, rapid mood shifts,
reckless behavior and aggression, changing sleep patterns

9. Causes
• biological differences (physical changes in brains)
• neurotransmitters (imbalance seems to play significant role in bipolar and
other mood disorders)
• hormones (imbalance can trigger bipolar disorder)
• inherited traits (more common in people who have a blood relative with
condition; researchers trying to find genes)
• environment (stress, abuse, significant loss, or other traumatic experiences)

11. Risk Factors
• affects men and women equally
• usually appears between ages 15-25
• blood relatives
• periods of high stress
• drug or alcohol abuse
• major life changes (such as death of a loved one)

13. Types: Bipolar Disorder
1
• at least one fully manic episode with periods of major depression
• was called manic depression in the past

15. Types: Bipolar disorder
II
• seldom experience full-fledged mania
• instead, they experience periods of hypomania (elevated levels of energy and
impulsiveness that are not as extreme as the symptoms of mania)
• these hypomanic periods alternate with episodes of major depression

17. Types: Cyclothymia
• mild form of bipolar disorder
• involves periods of hypomania and mild
depression, with less severe mood swings
• may by misdiagnosed as having depression
alone (same with bipolar disorder II)

19. Other conditions that
commonly occur
• anxiety disorders (PTSD, general anxiety
disorders)
• ADHD (some overlapping symptoms)
• addiction or substance abuse
• physical health problems

21. Treatment
• manic phase > antipsychotic medications, lithium, and mood stablilizers
• depressive phase > antidepressants
• anti-anxiety drugs may also help
• Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
• getting enough sleep helps keep a stable mood in some patients
• psychotherapy may be useful during depressive phase
• substance abuse treatment/joining a support group

23. Electroconvulsive
therapy
• a psychiatric treatment that uses an electrical current to cause a brief
seizure of the central nervous system while the patient is under anesthesia
• studies have repeatedly found that ECT is the most effective treatment for
depression that is not relieved with medications

25. Creativity
• due to mania’s energy and free-flowing thinking
• Handel: composed Messiah during three weeks of intensive, creative energy
• Schumman: composed 51 musical works during 2 years of mania

27. Statistics
• affects approximately 5.7 million adult Americans (2.6% of the U.S.
population)
• median age of onset is 25 years
• more than 2/3 have at least one close relative with the disorder
• results in 9.2 years reduction in expected life span (as many as 1 in 5
commits suicide)