what is bi-polar & symptoms?

Question

what is bi-polar and its symptoms etc?

Answer 1

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.

Answer 2

It is a serious mental illness which fortunately be controlled in most cases. Picture a straight line about two inches long. The left end of the line is MANIC (hyper), the middle of the line is NORMAL and the right end of the line is depression. A person with Manic depression (bipolar disorder) will swing from one side to the other through normal. When a person is manic they can do many things that are not normal.....talk very fat, very little sleep, wear crazy clothes, be hyper about everything they do, meet people at bars, think they are someone else other than themselves, see imaginary objects and people, look into the mirror and not recognize themselves, and on and on. When they swing past normal into depression they are listless. They sleep a lot. No get up and go. Crying. Feel worthless. Everything they do is a difficult task. Don not speak very much. Stare, etc. There are medications that can move a person away from manic toward normal however there is a medication (Lithium) that must be taken to keep the person in the normal position, and of course, there are meds for depression. It takes a very careful balance of these meds to maintain a person with bipolar disorder....and the person must stay on the meds otherwise they go right back into bipolar rather quickly. This isn't an easy disease to cope with but there is hope because of several excellent meds that can really help.

Answer 3

what it is:

any of several psychological disorders of mood characterized usually by alternating episodes of depression and mania -- called also manic depression, manic-depressive illness.

Symptoms:
The manic phase may last from days to months and include the following symptoms:

Elevated mood
Racing thoughts
Hyperactivity
Increased energy
Lack of self-control
Inflated self-esteem (delusions of grandeur, false beliefs in special abilities)
Over-involvement in activities
Reckless behavior
Spending sprees
Binge eating, drinking, and/or drug use
Sexual promiscuity
Impaired judgment
Tendency to be easily distracted
Little need for sleep
Easily agitated or irritated
Poor temper control
These symptoms of mania are seen with bipolar disorder I. In people with bipolar disorder II, hypomanic episodes involve similar symptoms that are less intense.

The depressed phase of both types of bipolar disorder involves very serious symptoms of major depression:

Persistent sadness
Fatigue or listlessness
Sleep disturbances
Excessive sleepiness
Inability to sleep
Eating disturbances
Loss of appetite and weight loss
Overeating and weight gain
Loss of self-esteem
Feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness and/or guilt
Difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions
Withdrawal from friends
Withdrawal from activities that were once enjoyed
Persistent thoughts of death
There is a high risk of suicide with bipolar disorder. While in either phase, patients may abuse alcohol or other substances, which can worsen the symptoms.

Sometimes there is an overlap between the two phases. Manic and depressive symptoms may occur simultaneously or in quick succession in what is called a mixed state.

Answer 4

Bipolar Disorders (also known as manic depression), are characterized by alternating episodes of mania or hypomania, and depression.

Bipolar disorder is often not recognized by the patient, relatives, friends, or even physicians. In its early stages, bipolar disorder may masquerade as a problem other than mental illness. For example, it may first appear as alcohol or drug abuse, or poor school or work performance.

If left untreated, bipolar disorder tends to worsen, and the person experiences episodes of full-fledged mania and clinical depression.

An early sign of manic-depressive illness may be hypomania--a state in which the person shows a high level of energy, excessive moodiness or irritability, and impulsive or reckless behavior. Hypomania may feel good to the person who experiences it. Thus, even when family and friends learn to recognize the mood swings, the individual often will deny that anything is wrong.

Answer 5

Hi:

Here is some information that I hope will help you to understand Bipolar a little better.

The Very Basics of Bipolar


The very basics of Bipolar and I do mean stripped down to the easiest for possible is that we have mood swings that sway fro elation(you just can't get any happier than this) and then drop down to major depression and even as far as suicide so fast it will make your head spin.

Bipolar years ago use to be known as Major Depression.

TV, news, and such media always show someone with Bipolar as criminals, violent, and so forth. Realistically that can happen but I don't know the exact stats but I would say 1% or less are like this...Most of us SHOP, sex, more to come on that in a minute.

The terms "Mania" and "Manic" don't mean crazy, but I know you know that and most of this anyway. They basically mean:

Extreme high emotions either positive or negative they are very much heightened. Full of energy, super fast talking, not needing much sleep, easily distracted, taking on too many projects or much more than you can handle, racing thoughts, grandiosity where we think nothing can happen to us because we are superman/woman, extreme risk taking even though extremely dangerous risks can be taken w/o a thought of safety, poor driving and excessive speed doc took my license away from me for 4 mos because of that), shopping sprees that can be to a point of financial destruction (I almost had my car repo'd once because of this), promiscuous sex and more. These are the most common and important to look for anyway.

Manic is usually the exact opposite, same as depression but can and has gone so far down there are thought of suicide, attempts of suicide and successful suicides.
Each person is different in the way that they "cycle" (mania to manic to normal, mania...) and it continues on a continuous cycle for life. Hence the need for therapy, psych and meds.

Now I am what is called a "rapid cycler" AND "long term cycler". When I am rapid cycling for example I can be extremely excited, one day and the next day I can wake up in depression. There is no trigger for the depression, it just is. My usual pattern is "long term cycler" which is extremely uncommon (ohhh yea for me) but I can cycle in months and have been documented to cycle in years. This totally messes up your body and health.

There is also what is called a "mixed state" when you can have a ton of energy, but at the same time be really down, angry, panicky, and so on. Basically a combination of both mania and manic at the same time.

As you know there are lots of meds to treat Bipolar. I am sure you have also played the "med game" trying to find the right med or meds that are going to work for your body chemistry. What works for me, may not work for you, every one is different. Believe it or not, mine is so difficult to treat I am on 8 (yes, 8) different psych meds a day and most are 3x/day. When I feel differently we either change the dose of 1 or more meds, take away a med, or my favorite...add another med to the recipe.

Inappropriate irritability and/or anger can be symptoms of Bipolar 1. You may say or have said (usually the case) that are hurtful, sometimes words can be lethal they hurt so much, but you do not mean them at all and then you can't say how sorry you are enough.

When you are depressed or in a "mixed state", sometimes you can feel suicidal. I have been there and attempted 2 xs. That is just part of Bipolar and it is extremely serious. Both attempts of mine I was in ICU for a long time, yes I did die both times but paramedics found me just in time. After ICU I got to spend 10 days in a locked psych unit...Oh how fun that was...but that is really for the extreme cases like mine for example.

Bipolar has been found to be inherited, but so far science just can’t come up with an exact known fact to the cause of it.

Be safe and be well

Answer 6

It is a mental illness, a person experiences highs and lows. One minute they are so happy and love life, the next they can be so depressed. You can go to Bipolar.com

Answer 7

It's a travel sickness characterized by long flights North and South. The symptoms are that you find yourself always cold, everything appears "white" and your credit cards are maxed out.

Answer 8

to keep it short, its where people go crazy