Is being pi polar the same thing as being manic-depressive?

Question

I know manic-depressants who are either *down* or *up*, happy or sad. Most of the things I've heard or seen described in those with pi bolar disorder are in regards to tenderness vs hostility or intense anger. This presents the notion that they may, in fact, be two separate, albeit related, disorders, displaying different characteristics. Is this fact, or just my twist on things I've seen or read/heard about? (I'm a little manic depressive myself, but not hostile or angry.)

Answer 1

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person's mood, energy, and ability to function. Different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through, the symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. They can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance, and even suicide. But there is good news: bipolar disorder can be treated, and people with this illness can lead full and productive lives.

Answer 2

Absolutely Bipolar Disorder is just the term that they use now instead of the term manic depressive. Just because you are manic depressive/Bipolar doesn't mean that you will be angry and hostile. It means that your moods swing you could be up on a high one minute and then crash and hit a manic low the next minute. You are not just a "little manic depressive" you either are or you or not. I am Bipolar and i do not display symptoms of hostile behavior or being angry all of the time. Do yourself a favor and research a little more before you judge.

Answer 3

Yes it's the same thing, they just changed the name.
Bi-polars have their 'manic' stages where they are happy, and 'depressed' stages where they are more withdrawn. More serious cases show compulsiveness and they act almost like they are on drugs while in the manic stages. When people try to control them in this heightened manic stage, they can quickly cycle down in the depressive stage and become hostile. The more serious case show a 'depressed' stage where people can be suicidal, violent, uncommunicative and risk takers.
There are different levels from mild to severe. Some of the most severe cases are called 'rapid-cycling' meaning that they change from manic to depressive and then back to manic very quickly, almost like having a split-personality.
I'm not a doctor but my job deals with people suffering from mental health issues and I've worked with a lot of people that suffer from bi-polar disorder.

Answer 4

Yes, in fact, it is. My grandmother has it, and there are plenty of mood swings. It's a rollercoaster of emotions, sad...happy...mad...happy....My grandmother will cuss and go on a rampage, then the next day be very happy. Also, if you don't take your medicine, you will be put in a mental health hospital for evaluation. Bi-polar, also known as manic-depression, affects 2% of the US population. This means 2 of every 100 or 20 of every 1000. It is now infact being diagnosed in teenagers. It is far from rare. The usual age was 20's-30's and up. It is lumped with Schizophrenia and known a major mental illness. It can be called mood swing but is better to be called energy swing, for a disruption in the biochemical energy in the system takes place.Bipolar disorder is marked by wild, cyclical mood swings, which typically begin in a person's late teens or twenties and strike men and women with equal frequency. Its milder, type II form causes depression alternating with hyperactivity, while the more severe type I disorder produces frenzied, even psychotic episodes that may send the patient to the hospital, followed by deep, crippling depressions. Current treatment uses a mix of mood-stabilizing, anti-psychotic and antidepressant drugs, but patients and physicians often struggle to strike the right combination. Jon-Kar Zubieta and his colleagues made the discovery in 16 patients with type I bipolar disorder using a brain imaging technique called positron emission tomography, or PET. The scans let them see the density of cells that release the brain chemicals dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine.

Answer 5

It's bipolar...and yes the old term is manic depressive. I think you may have been reading or seen poor examples, one guy I knew would talk for hours and hours in many different languages when he was manic, and another would bet all his money on horses when he was manic. The hostility and violence may be caused by another illness or for some other reason.

Answer 6

Every human being has "ups" and "down"-it's how we are emotionally programmed but manic depression (now called Bipolar Disorder) is when a person is very extreme in his/her responses to life. I have known a handful of people diagnosed with this and they have all varied in their emotional or "affective" details but the fact is they are all at times extreme eventually and that the depressive component alternates with the "high" . Classically, it used to be they were mostly in a depressed state and the manic aspect happened very infrequently but I honestly don't know how true that is. Every one responds to depakote (valproic acid)- used to be lithium carbonate but no longer so much because of long term damage to the kidneys.

Answer 7

manic-depressive is being hot and cold in the same day or having good and bad days. sometimes it's hard to diagnose.
bi-polar is more like being frozen and thawed. it takes a bit more time for the disease to get set into motion, but once it gets going there is no stopping it.
bigger changes in bi-polar so it's easier to diagnose; but the changes are sometimes 'eased into' , which makes it hard to diagnose.

you know how, sometimes, when you take a steak out of the freezer it looks thawed out , but it's still frozen in the middle? that's like having both. you can only see the outside, but need to feel for how the inside is doing (without bruising the meat).

was this a descent analogy? i tried to make it so everyone could understand.

Answer 8

Yes bi polar disorder is another name for manic depression. You cannot i'm afraid diagnose yourself. We all suffer up and down moods/days but with this illness the mood swings are extreme and prolonged episodes of extreme mania or extreme depression on more than one occasion not just feeling up or down in mood.

Answer 9

Manic Depression is what used to be called. The term bipolar is now the accepted term. They are both the exact same mental illness.

Answer 10

It's very different for human or animals.

For example there is very few bears that suffer from manic-depression, but bi polar disorder is very common among this species (the famous bi-polar bears).