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Bipolar Syndrome Symptoms

It's difficult to maintain the same mood everyday--even the most stable person has ups and downs. However, people with Bipolar Syndrome (also called manic depression) experience extreme changes in their mood. This shift can occur not just from one day to the next, but also during the same day. To begin to comprehend this complex mental disorder, it is important to understand the symptoms.

  1. Bipolar 1

    • Bipolar 1 disorder (raging bipolar) appears as severe mania episodes. The victim experiences auditory and visual delusions, during which his manic moods affect his mental state to the extent that he loses all sense of reality. He can think, for example, that he's been "chosen" or that he's on a "purgatory mission." He might act impulsively and has no control over his actions.

    Bipolar 2

    • Bipolar 2 disorder (swinging bipolar) appears as mild manic episodes (hypomania). The symptoms are not severe and are therefore less disruptive. The victim experiences no hallucinations and no psychotic distances from reality. Bipolar 2 disorder is difficult to recognize because the victim and those around her may think she's having a typical, less severe mood swing.

    Mania

    • Bipolar Syndrome--manic depression--is related to a biochemical imbalance that causes the victim to lose control of his emotions. During mania, he feels "glorious" and "on cloud nine." Symptoms include an excessively cheerful mood, talking quickly, a racing mind, energy lift and restlessness, poor judgment, substance abuse, unfocused disposition, short attention span, increased sex drive, denial and increased irritability.

    Depression

    • Immediately after experiencing mania, the bipolar victim tends to fall into depression where she's lost all hope and has given up on life. Symptoms include pessimism (feelings of guilt, worthlessness and hopelessness), anxiety, loneliness, weight loss/gain, lack of interest in otherwise enjoyable tasks, fatigue, increased irritability and suicidal thoughts or actions, .

    Mood Swings

    • Severe mood swings are one of the most telling ways to identify a person with Bipolar Syndrome. Almost everything he does is based on his mood, which fluctuates to extremes. During a mood swing that is closer to a normal shift in mood, he might feel blue one minute and fine the next. However, if his moods are constantly changing and are severe in their intensity and frequency, he may be afflicted with Bipolar Syndrome.

    Treatment

    • Bipolar Syndrome is a chronic illness that cannot be cured. Still, it can be managed. Mood stabilizers are generally used to calm down the victim. The most common prescription drugs are Valproate and Lithium. While taking the drug, she'll still experience highs and low, but not to the extent that they develop into depression and mania. In addition, she should seek counseling, which may include psychosocial therapy (relationships improvement) and cognitive behavioral treatment (thought control).

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