Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder II

Bipolar disorder is a brain disorder that causes severe shifts in mood and energy, which makes a person's ability to function difficult. Bipolar disorder II can be treated like other forms of bipolar disorder, with medication and therapy. Treatment can be successful if the patient adheres to the recommendations of their doctor.

Differences

• Unlike bipolar I disorder, bipolar II patients do not experience severe mania. Bipolar II patients experience milder episodes of manic behavior called hypomania.

Depression

• Bipolar II patients suffer from cycles of deep depression. Symptoms include prolonged sadness, significant changes in appetite and sleep, anxiety, lethargy and recurring thoughts of death or suicide.

Hypomania

• Symptoms of hypomania include intense bursts of euphoria with irritable or aggressive behavior. During a hypomanic episode there is a decreased need for sleep and sufferers may exhibit reckless behavior with an inflated sense of self-importance.

Cycling

• Bipolar II patients cycle between depression and hypomania with periods of normal functioning. In bipolar II patients, the depression is usually more severe than the hypomania.

Considerations

• Because of the severe depressive episodes associated with bipolar II, sometimes patients are diagnosed with major depression. Symptoms of hypomania can be mild and sometimes are not reported by patients.