Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Recognizing the symptoms
• Part 2 of 3: Understanding the different forms of bipolar disorder
• Part 3 of 3: Know how to spot bipolar disorder
• Tips
• Warnings

Bipolar disorder is a type of mood disorder that occurs in about 5-7% of Dutch adults. It often manifests itself through periods of euphoric mood, also known as mania, alternated with a depressed state of mind. Bipolar disorder usually develops when someone is still young. Research has shown that 1.8% of all children and young adults suffer from bipolar disorder. Strangely enough, the diagnosis is often not made until someone is in their late twenties or early thirties. This article can help you determine if you or someone close to you has bipolar disorder.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Recognizing the symptoms

1. Recognize the signs of a mania. During manic periods, feelings of euphoria, creativity and heightened consciousness are common. Manic periods can last from a few hours to a few days or weeks. These are the signs that could indicate a mania:
   • Feeling "high", so much so that someone feels immortal. This is usually accompanied by the feeling of having special powers, or of being divine.
   • Thoughts racing through your head and jumping from topic to topic so fast it's hard to keep up or focus on one thing.
   • Talking so quickly that others cannot make sense of what someone is saying and feel restless and nervous.
   • Staying up all night or sleeping for just a few hours, but not feeling tired the next day.
   • Engaging in reckless behavior, such as frequently changing sexual contacts without protection, gambling with large amounts of money, making risky business investments, spending money on expensive things, quitting a job, and so on.
   • Easily irritated and impatient towards others. This can get out of hand and argue with people who do not want to go along with your ideas.
   • In rare cases, experiencing delusions, hallucinations, and visions (such as believing you have heard the voice of God, or seeing angels).
2. Recognize the symptoms of bipolar depression. People who suffer from bipolar disorder often have longer periods of depression that are also more common than the manic periods. Watch for the following symptoms:
   • The inability to experience pleasure or joy.
   • Being plagued by feelings of hopelessness and incapacity. Feeling worthless and guilty is also common.
   • Sleeping more than usual and feeling tired and lethargic.
   • Arrive and experience a change in your appetite.
   • Experiencing thoughts of dying and suicide.
   • Note that bipolar depression often resembles regular depression. An expert can recognize the difference between these two disorders. He / she looks at the history of manic periods and how strong they have been.
   • The drugs prescribed for common depression are usually ineffective for bipolar depression. It is also often accompanied by irritability and mood swings that someone with depression does not have.
3. Understand the signs of a hypomanic episode. A hypomanic episode is an abnormal and persistently elevated mood that lasts for at least four days. Irritability and other symptoms can also occur. Hypomania is different from a manic episode in that the symptoms are usually less severe. Pay attention:
   • Euphoric feelings
   • Irritability
   • Exaggerated confidence, or megalomania
   • Less need for sleep
   • Talk quickly and intensely
   • Thoughts that fly in all directions very quickly (from one idea to another)
   • Be easily distracted
   • Psychomotor restlessness, such as wobbling one leg or tapping with the fingers, or inability to sit still.
   • During a hypomanic episode, a person usually has no problems at work or within the social circle. Often people are not treated for this. For example, someone with hypomania feels euphoric, has more appetite and more sex drive. But he / she can still go to work and can perform normal tasks without (many) negative consequences.
   • During a hypomanic episode, a person can often just perform tasks at work. He / she can also have normal (although perhaps a little more intense) contact with colleagues. In real mania, it is often very difficult to perform daily activities at work without errors of judgment. Inappropriate social contacts can also lead to negative consequences. Delusions and hallucinations do not usually occur with hypomania.
4. Understand the characteristics of a mixed attack. In some cases, a person experiences mania and depression at the same time. These people feel depressed and irritable, have thoughts racing through their heads, anxiety attacks and insomnia.
   • Mania and hypomania are classified as mixed if there are also three or more symptoms of depression.
   • For example, imagine someone engaging in risky behavior. He / she also suffers from insomnia, hyperactivity and racing thoughts. These are all criteria for a mania. If this person also has at least three symptoms of depression, this is a manic episode with mixed features. Examples include feelings of worthlessness, loss of interest in hobbies or other activities, and recurring thoughts of death.

Part 2 of 3: Understanding the different forms of bipolar disorder

1. Know the characteristics of bipolar type 1 disorder. This form of bipolar disorder is the best-known manic-depressive form of the disease. A person suffering from type 1 must have experienced at least one manic or mixed episode. People with type 1 bipolar disorder have often had a depressive episode as well.
   • People with bipolar type 1 usually experience a high that can lead to risky behavior.
   • This form of the disease often disrupts work and social life.
   • People with bipolar type 1 most often make a suicide attempt, with 10-15% successful.
   • These people are also more likely to become addicted to alcohol or drugs.
   • A link is known between bipolar type 1 and hyperthyroidism. This makes it even more important to see the doctor.
2. Know the symptoms of bipolar type 2 disorder. This variation has a less severe manic period, but heavy depressive periods. The person may sometimes experience mild hypomania. But the underlying condition is usually depression.
   • People with bipolar type 2 are often misdiagnosed as simply being depressed. To recognize the difference, one needs to look for the distinguishing features of bipolar depression.
   • Bipolar depression is different from regular depression in that it is often accompanied by manic symptoms. Sometimes these two overlap. It takes an expert to recognize the difference.
   • People with bipolar type 2 often exhibit manic symptoms such as anxiety, irritability, or raging thoughts. Bursts of creativity or activity are less common.
   • As with type 1, there is also a high risk of suicide, hyperthyroidism, and alcohol or drug abuse.
   • Bipolar type 2 appears to be more common in women than in men.
3. Watch for signs of cyclothymia. This is a milder form of bipolar disorder involving mood swings with less severe cases of mania and depression. The mood swings seem to occur in cycles, with mania and depression alternating. These are the features:
   • Cyclothymia starts early in life, usually in adolescents and young adults.
   • Cyclothymia is as common in men as in women.
   • As with bipolar types 1 and 2, there is an increased risk of alcohol and drug abuse.
   • Sleep disturbances are also common in people with cyclothymia.

Part 3 of 3: Know how to spot bipolar disorder

1. Notice if someone's mood changes when a new season arrives. It often happens that the mood changes with the season. In some cases, the mania or depression also lasts all season. In other cases, the change of season signals the start of a cycle that includes both mania and depression.
   • Manic episodes are especially common in the summer. Depressive episodes earlier in the fall, winter and spring. However, this is not a written rule; some people are depressed in the summer and manic in the winter.
2. Understand that bipolar disorder does not always mean a person cannot function. Some people with bipolar disorder have difficulties at work or school. But in other cases you will not notice them in that area.
   • People with bipolar type 2 and cyclothymia can usually function normally at work or at school. People with bipolar type 1 often have more problems in that area.
3. Watch for alcohol and drug abuse. 50% of people with bipolar disorder struggle with alcohol or drug abuse. They use it to calm the raging thoughts in their heads during manic periods. They may also use drugs to feel better when they are depressed.
   • Substances such as alcohol have certain effects on mood and behavior. It can be tricky to know which behaviors come from bipolar disorder.
   • People who abuse alcohol and drugs have a higher risk of committing suicide. That's because those substances can enhance the feelings of both mania and depression.
   • Alcohol and drug abuse can also trigger a cycle of manic depression.
4. Notice if someone seems to be living outside of reality. People with bipolar disorder often lose touch with reality. This can happen in periods of severe mania as well as depression.
   • This can manifest itself through, for example, a dangerously inflated ego, or a feeling of guilt that is out of proportion to actual events. In some cases there may also be hallucinations or a psychosis.
   • Particularly in bipolar type 1, disconnection from reality often occurs during manic and mixed periods. It is less common in bipolar type 2, and almost never in cyclothymia.
5. Go to a specialist. Self-diagnosis is helpful because it allows you to take the next step and start seeking help. Many people live with bipolar disorder without being treated for it. But it's easier to live with the disease if you get the right medications. Psychotherapy with a psychiatrist or other therapist can also make a big difference.
   • Medicines used to treat bipolar disorder include mood stabilizers, antidepressants, antipsychotics, and anxiety inhibitors. These drugs block and / or regulate certain chemicals in the brain. They regulate dopamine, serotonin and acetylcholine.
   • Mood stabilizers regulate mood. They prevent the extreme highs and lows that come with bipolar disorder. This includes drugs such as lithium, Depakote, Neurontin, Lamictal, and Topamax.
   • Antipsychotics reduce psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions during a manic episode. These are for example Zyprexa, Risperdal and Abilify.
   • Antidepressants used in bipolar disorder include Lexapro, Zoloft, and Prozac. To reduce anxiety, psychiatrists often prescribe Xanax, Klonopin, or Lorazepam.
   • Medicines must always be prescribed by a doctor or psychiatrist. They must be taken as prescribed to avoid health complications.
   • If you are concerned that you or a loved one may have bipolar disorder, see your doctor or therapist for a diagnosis.
   • If you or a loved one is thinking about suicide, reach out to a friend or loved one immediately. Call the Suicide Prevention Helpline 0900-0113 if you want to talk to someone.

Tips

• If you are a heavy drinker or on drugs, this can cause you to have mood swings that resemble bipolar disorder. It may help to stop taking these drugs.

Warnings

• This article is only intended to help you learn to recognize the symptoms of bipolar disorder. It is not intended to diagnose or treat. If you think you or a loved one has bipolar disorder, see a doctor.