Symptoms
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To put it in a diagram, this is bipolar disorder compared to how mood swings normally work:
A fact card made for this website
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bipolar disorder 1 vs. bipolar disorder 2
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Bipolar disorder 1 is the severe one that can be dangerous, and will more often than not leads to being hospitalised. You will have a higher chance of getting 'mania' and long 'highs'
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Bipolar disorder 2 is less severe, and its episodes tend to last only hours to a few days. You experience less
severe highs but no manic episodes. Bipolar disorder 2 normally doesn't usually get you hospitalised. |
General symptoms
The symptoms of bipolar disorder include:
Also, Sane has a fact sheet with some information as well. Click here to view & download.
- Extreme mood swings. They swing from a time that patients often like as it makes you have a lot of creativity and be very happy (this time can also make you have hyper behaviour), and then go down to a time when you have a lot of depression and sometimes almost want to commit suicide.
- 'Rages' and tantrums
- Rude behaviour
- In extreme situations, you can get highs and lows at the same time
Also, Sane has a fact sheet with some information as well. Click here to view & download.
Treatment
Physical treatments
Some of the treatments for bipolar disorder (1 & 2) are:
- Mood Stabilisers: Medication for mania or hypomania that prevents or stops it.
- Antidepressants: Helps with the depression
- Antipsychotics: This medication is only used if there are psychotic symptoms involved. Some of these are:
- Rapid cycling disorder (constant highs and lows)
- Mixed episodes (both highs and lows together)
Psychological therapies
Some of the psychological treatments are:
- Counselling
- Psychotherapy
- CBT
Other
- Hospitalisation
- Efficient management
The Black Dog Institute has a fact sheet about treatment for bipolar disorder. Click here to view & download
Definitions
Definition: mania
Mania refers to an extremely high mood where the person often experiences delusions and hallucinations. They tend to last days or even weeks.
Related to manic (adj.)
Definition: hypomania
Hypomania translates into ‘less than mania’. It is a high that is less severe
than mania and doesn't involve any delusions or hallucinations. These highs normaly only last for a few hours to a few days even though they are officially diagnosed after a four day duration.
Definition: CBT
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
