I know it’s one that both villainized and sensationalized by media, I want to know what it’s really like and not some fear-mongering missinformation a lot of people spread. Thanks
In: Biology
Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition characterized by extreme mood swings, including episodes of mania and depression. During manic episodes, individuals may feel overly energetic, euphoric, impulsive, irritable and in some cases can cause psychosis. Depressive episodes involve feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and low energy. These episodes usually last long periods of time, like weeks or months. The emotions Bipolar patients experience are much more intense than everyday emotions.
It’s categorized into Bipolar I and Bipolar II. Bipolar I presents with full mania, while Bipolar II presents with hypomania. Hypomania is a less severe form of mania. It’s characterized by milder symptoms, shorter duration, and it doesn’t lead to psychosis. Both I & II can present with depressive episodes, but the biggest difference is in the severity of the manic episodes.
A personal example, my mother has Bipolar I and during an episode of mania, she quit her job, sold her car to make up for quitting, became extremely religious, married her boyfriend at the courthouse, started boiling objects from around the house to “sanitize” them etc. 4 weeks later she went into a depressive episode and slept at least 16 hours a day for weeks then ended up slitting her wrists and being hospitalized. She was unmedicated at the time, and was put in a psych ward until she was able to resume in everyday life.
Most medicated Bipolar patients can present with almost no symptoms. It varies between individuals, but a lot go into “remission” while doing a combination of talk therapy and medication.
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