What does it mean if someone is bipolar?

Answer 1

chemical imbalance in the brian resulting in humongous mood swings and uncontrolable emotions. requires medication and therapy to get better.

Answer 2

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.


More than 2 million American adults,1 or about 1 percent of the population age 18 and older in any given year,2 have bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder typically develops in late adolescence or early adulthood. However, some people have their first symptoms during childhood, and some develop them late in life. It is often not recognized as an illness, and people may suffer for years before it is properly diagnosed and treated. Like diabetes or heart disease, bipolar disorder is a long-term illness that must be carefully managed throughout a person's life.

"Manic-depression distorts moods and thoughts, incites dreadful behaviors, destroys the basis of rational thought, and too often erodes the desire and will to live. It is an illness that is biological in its origins, yet one that feels psychological in the experience of it; an illness that is unique in conferring advantage and pleasure, yet one that brings in its wake almost unendurable suffering and, not infrequently, suicide.

"I am fortunate that I have not died from my illness, fortunate in having received the best medical care available, and fortunate in having the friends, colleagues, and family that I do."

Kay Redfield Jamison, Ph.D., An Unquiet Mind, 1995, p. 6.
(Reprinted with permission from Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.)

Answer 3

OK, so it's a mood disorder and a serious mental illness. It has a strong genetic component, but appears to be triggered environmentally. There are no diagnostic tests for it, just psychiatric evaluation. Most sufferers are not diagnosed until middle age, and it takes an average of around 8-10 years to get a correct diagnosis. Historically, figures suggested it affects about 0.8% of the population at some point, which makes it about half as common as schizophrenia. In recent years, bipolar disorder has become an 'in' diagnosis, and many more people are being diagnosed at younger and younger ages. As with ADHD, this fad may well pass with time, although for the moment many celebrities appear to be 'popularising' it.

It is characterised by episodes of severe clinical depression and mania or hypomania (for definitions of those, see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Current_diagnostic_criteria_for_bipolar_disorder ). The extreme end of mania often turns into psychosis, complete with hallucinations and delusions. During manic phases, the person's judgement and perception of reality is severely compromised, leading to risky actions with potentially damaging consequences (financially, sexually and relationship-wise). Untreated, episodes generally worsen over time due to an effect known as kindling. Untreated Bipolar sufferers are at a very high risk of suicide: 20-25% attempt it, and 15% succeed.

The cycles in bipolar disorder are much longer than people generally believe. Anyone whose mood changes from minute to minute is very unlikely to be bipolar. Bipolar 1 is characterised by mood episodes lasting many months, while Bipolar 2 has episodes in the region of weeks to months. Rapid and ultra-rapid cycling bipolar disorder is rare, and cycles last days to weeks.

There are many drugs available to treat the symptoms of bipolar (there is no cure). These are either anti-convulsants or anti-psychotics (personally I take both), and the most well known of these is Lithium. These drugs are heavy duty psychiatric medications and are not to be taken lightly, and most if not all of them have a range of side effects including lethargy, photosensitivity, cognitive impairment (dumb as a box of rocks), weight gain, hormone problems, hair loss and blood problems. These side effects have to be weighed against the benefits of mood stabilisation. Most patients will go through a number of different drugs before finding one that works for them.

Answer 4

Bipolar disorder causes dramatic mood swings—from overly "high" and/or irritable to sad and hopeless, and then back again, often with periods of normal mood in between. Severe changes in energy and behavior go along with these changes in mood. The periods of highs and lows are called episodes of mania and depression.

Signs and symptoms of mania (or a manic episode) include:
Increased energy, activity, and restlessness
Excessively "high," overly good, euphoric mood
Extreme irritability
Racing thoughts and talking very fast, jumping from one idea to another
Distractibility, can't concentrate well
Little sleep needed
Unrealistic beliefs in one's abilities and powers
Poor judgment
Spending sprees
A lasting period of behavior that is different from usual
Increased sexual drive
Abuse of drugs, particularly cocaine, alcohol, and sleeping medications
Provocative, intrusive, or aggressive behavior
Denial that anything is wrong
A manic episode is diagnosed if elevated mood occurs with three or more of the other symptoms most of the day, nearly every day, for 1 week or longer. If the mood is irritable, four additional symptoms must be present.

Signs and symptoms of depression (or a depressive episode) include:
Lasting sad, anxious, or empty mood
Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism
Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness
Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed, including sex
Decreased energy, a feeling of fatigue or of being "slowed down"
Difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions
Restlessness or irritability
Sleeping too much, or can't sleep
Change in appetite and/or unintended weight loss or gain
Chronic pain or other persistent bodily symptoms that are not caused by physical illness or injury
Thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide attempts
A depressive episode is diagnosed if five or more of these symptoms last most of the day, nearly every day, for a period of 2 weeks or longer.

A mild to moderate level of mania is called hypomania. Hypomania may feel good to the person who experiences it and may even be associated with good functioning and enhanced productivity. Thus even when family and friends learn to recognize the mood swings as possible bipolar disorder, the person may deny that anything is wrong. Without proper treatment, however, hypomania can become severe mania in some people or can switch into depression.

Sometimes, severe episodes of mania or depression include symptoms of psychosis (or psychotic symptoms). Common psychotic symptoms are hallucinations (hearing, seeing, or otherwise sensing the presence of things not actually there) and delusions (false, strongly held beliefs not influenced by logical reasoning or explained by a person's usual cultural concepts). Psychotic symptoms in bipolar disorder tend to reflect the extreme mood state at the time. For example, delusions of grandiosity, such as believing one is the President or has special powers or wealth, may occur during mania; delusions of guilt or worthlessness, such as believing that one is ruined and penniless or has committed some terrible crime, may appear during depression. People with bipolar disorder who have these symptoms are sometimes incorrectly diagnosed as having schizophrenia, another severe mental illness.

It may be helpful to think of the various mood states in bipolar disorder as a spectrum or continuous range. At one end is severe depression, above which is moderate depression and then mild low mood, which many people call "the blues" when it is short-lived but is termed "dysthymia" when it is chronic. Then there is normal or balanced mood, above which comes hypomania (mild to moderate mania), and then severe mania.


In some people, however, symptoms of mania and depression may occur together in what is called a mixed bipolar state. Symptoms of a mixed state often include agitation, trouble sleeping, significant change in appetite, psychosis, and suicidal thinking. A person may have a very sad, hopeless mood while at the same time feeling extremely energized.

Bipolar disorder may appear to be a problem other than mental illness—for instance, alcohol or drug abuse, poor school or work performance, or strained interpersonal relationships. Such problems in fact may be signs of an underlying mood disorder.

Answer 5

They have a imbalanced brain chemistry according to Research, there are several symptoms and each case is different..... here is a link about it you may want to check out!
http://www.bpkeepers.org/symptoms/symptoms.html

Answer 6

It is a form of depression. It also goes by the term of manic depressive! It is one of the hardest forms of depression to treat.

Answer 7

they suffer from manic depression caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.

Answer 8

They never have one attitude and are sometimes mad or glad for no reason at all. They are like jekyll and hyde and have conflicting personalities.

Answer 9

A disease that is in people also known as manic depreesion!!!!

Answer 10

This might be helpful
http://sensitive-psychoworld.blogspot.com/