Manic depression aka bipolar disorder

What is bipolar disorder?

Bipolardisorder, previously known as manic-depression, is a mood disorder characterized by exaggerated mood swings. Bipolar means two poles or extremes and if you have bipolar disorder you are likely to have extreme ups and downs. You might experience varying extremes of mania, or up periods and depression, or down periods - no one is the same.

Mood episodes

Everyone has ups and downs (including those related hormone changes in adolescence and to the menstral cycle in females). However, Bipolar disorder is a medical condition where you have extreme mood swings (or 'mood episodes') widely out of proportion, or totally unrelated, to what's happening in your life. These swings affect your thoughts, feelings, physical health, emotional health, behaviour, and day-to-day functioning and can be extremely disruptive to your life. It can also be very disruptive and distressing to your relationships and family. Every time you experience symptoms at one extreme for at least 1 week, it is called an episode. There are 4 main mood episodes—mania, hypomania, depression, and mixed mood.

Manic episode (Mania)

A manic episode is a when you have an unusually and constantly elevated or bad-tempered mood, lasting at least 1 week. During times of mania, you might experience:

Elevated or euphoric mood - this can include being full of energy and happy. It's often described as being on a high or "on top of the world".
Changes in activity levels - There might be changes in your sleeping and eating patterns.
Faster thinking and speaking patterns - Thoughts can be quicker than usual, which might lead you to speak faster and jump from subject to subject.
Lack of inhibitions - finding it more difficult to see what the consequences of your actions might be.
Irritability - you might be more likely to be angry or annoyed with others, particularly is they seem to reject plans or ideas.
Unrealistic (or gradiose) plans and beliefs - you might have unrealistic beliefs about your talents, e.g. you might believe that you're a king, queens, film star or a religious figure.
Risk taking behaviour - you might take unnecessary and unsafe risks.
Hypersexuality — increased sexual thoughts, feelings, or behaviours; using explicit sexual language.
Measuring behaviour - you might find it hard hard to decide what behaviour is appropriate to a situation.

Hypomanic episode (Hypomania)

Hypomania is a milder form of mania that lasts at least 4 days. You don't experience full manic episodes, but milder (hypomanic) episodes. It includes symptoms such as increased thought speed and processes, elevated mood, and irritability.