Bipolar disorder?

Question

Can someone give me a definition- preferably a clear one that I can actually understand- of what it is?
And what some signs of having it are?

Thank you.

Answer 1

from my understanding it is when you have major mood swings from hell
you can go from happy to sad, angry, or whatever in just seconds
there are also two types and here are the ways to know what kind it would be:
Symptoms of mania (one kind of)

Signs and symptoms of mania and/or a manic episode can include:

* An increased level of energy and activity, often restlessness
* Excessively 'high', overly good and euphoric mood
* Extreme irritability
* 'Racing' thoughts, talking very fast, moving from one idea to the other
* Difficulties in concentrating, easily distracted
* Reduced need for sleep
* Unrealistic beliefs in own abilities and powers
* Poor judgement
* Periods of spending large amounts of money
* Increased sexual drive
* Abuse of drugs, particularly cocaine, alcohol and sleeping medications
* Provocative, intrusive or aggressive behaviour
* Patients deny that something is wrong

Symptoms of depression (the other form)

Signs and symptoms of depression (or a depressive episode) can 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 being 'slowed down'
* Difficulties in concentrating, remembering things or in making decisions
* Restlessness or irritability
* Sleeping to much, or not able to sleep
* Changes in appetite and weight loss or gain
* Chronic pain or other symptoms that are not caused by physical illness or injury
* Thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide attempts

hope this helps

Answer 2

Hi I'm bipolar and I go from 1 extreme to the next at the drop of a hat. For me I can be setting around doing OK then an anxiety attack will jump just up all over me. There are times I'll get so involved in something I literaly will not stop. Then the opposite times are I can not concentrate sometimes so badly I won't even be able to grasp a single sentence whether I'm trying to read it or someone is trying to talk to me. A neurologist would be able to give you all the info you need. 1 sign that's easy to see the people around me say I go from 0 to the B word in 3 seconds. Hope I've helped take care.

Answer 3

Meme's answer is the closest to being correct. Bipolar disorder symptoms actually vary greatly from one person to another. The list of symptoms meme provides can be used as a guideline to determine if a person has bipolar Disorder. There aren't any tests that tell if you have it or not. A diagnosis can only be made by a professional.

I've been diagnosed for over twenty years with it and have met dozens (actually, probably hundreds) of people who have the same thing. As I mentioned, we all have our own unique version of it.

if you or a loved one has Bipolar disorder, my best wishes to you!

Answer 4

I have bipolar disorder. Here's what it is: It's when your mood goes up and down really fast..kind of like mood swings. Another name for bipolar is manic-depressive. If you are hyper and really happy and jumping everywhere then you would be called manic. If your mood was really depressed and sad you would be depressed. A person with bipolar has both. They experience happy and sad emotions just like everyone else, but they are more severe.

Some signs of bipolar are:
-sudden changes in mood
-irritability
-when manic, very hyper and full of life, excessive spending, thinking you can do anything
-when you are depressed, you are very sad, you don't do all of the activities you used to, you don't hang out with your friends as much, you want to be alone, you think of suicide.

If you think you have bipolar, go to a doctor. They can refer you to a psychiatrist who will do tests on you. It has really helped me..seeing a doctor. I hope this helped.

Answer 5

The easiest way to define what bipolar is to explain that it is a mood disorder where you have two "poles" or opposites that you experience.

The first pole is depression and the second one is mania.

In depression, you can feel extremely down - have a loss of interest in most things that used to interest you, loss or increase in appetite, disruption in sleep patterns, loss of interest in sex, feelings of sadness or feeling blue, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, or wanting to harm yourself or feel suicidal.

In mania - you can feel elated, sped up, full of energy, like you can tackle the world and have energy left over, sometimes speech can be extra fast, you can run into money trouble (spending too much;) some people have difficulty with risky behavior including problems with sex, etc.

Most often, these shifts in mood last for great lengths of time, but some people can "cycle" or change these moods frequently

In the first type where moods can take months to cycle, it is called Bipolar I. In the second type, it is called Bipolar II or Rapid Cylcling. In this type of bipolar, people often reach an elevated state called "hypomania." Hypomania means that the persion can end up "higher" or "faster" than normal but not necessarily in full blown mania. I like to describe hypomania as being similar to the 'life of the party' - everyone wants to be around you because you're full of energy and fun. Unfortunately, in the end, you must come back down. :(

Answer 6

bipolar disorder's when you have depression and hypomania... i just had to do a report in class about it (ugh) here's a really quick summary:

depression-about 2 months at a time, you feel really down, you think about suicide, etc, etc. weight loss/gain, eating and sleeping habits change, you feel like nothing will ever be good again. REALLY low self esteem.

hypomania- about two weeks at a time, you feel so confident and happy, unending burst of energy... sometimes, you feel so good about yourself that you think nothing can possibly go wrong, and do stuff you should never do, thinking that everything will turn out okay "in the end"... (drinking, drugs, blah blah)

Answer 7

bipolar is a disorder that give you to extremes of emotions. think of a rope.
one end is fine, everything is going great. You can smile laugh and be nice and cheery

the other end is down very low and angry, depressed, sad and not very nice to anyone.

that is how it feels you swing from mood to mood any time a day with no reason

Answer 8

A lot of people look at it differently. I was diagnosed with bi-polar, but im not POSITIVE i really have it... but my mom has it really bad.
from what i know its where you are manic one minute (as in really hyper, or just have alot of energy) and then the next you are depressed or something. It varies with differen't types though. I think there are 3 types of bi-polar. There is B and A and i think AB... im not positive with that though... but there is something like that.
it can be changing really fast, or you can go through cycles. Like with my mom she will be really happy or just kindof melancholy, and then really hyper, where she is easily frustrated. She goes on creative spurts and does alot of things at once. She constantly has to be doing something. or she will just be happy.
then like 2 weeks later i start to notice that she tends to have less energy and doesnt feel like doing much. She sleeps alot and crys alot.
If you want to know specific symptoms you can search on google or something for bi-polar symptoms, or something...
hope this helped!

Answer 9

Here is a very good site regarding this issue. It has the definitions and the help guides. best of luck!

Answer 10

I HAVE IT here how you can tell if some one has it a saying
--
----there I
----ME
----MY SELF
----AND THE ONE THAT LOOK LIKE ME ------
and no one like him at all not me or no one he is the biggest asshole
and i go off for no reason some time i dont know why
thank god i have a good wife that stand by me