The Basics Bipolar Disorder

The hardest journal entry to write is always the first. So many possibilities as to what one can cover in their first entry. I will be explaining over the course of future entries what it means to have Schizoaffective Disorder Bipolar Subtype. For now I will just say that illness itself it is sorta like the bastard lovechild of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

While bipolar moods swings are one symptom of my type of Schizoaffective I thought that I would open this blog with an entry about what exactly Bipolar Disorder is. Movies and television shows have often misrepresented this illness, and many people think that it is nothing more than people just being moody.

Let me touch upon the basics first. Bipolar Disorder (at one time known as Manic Depression) is a classified as a mood disorder. This means that people who have it suffer from mood episodes. These mood episodes are very different from the normal ups and downs of every day life.

On one end there is major depressive episode and on the other end there is hypomania or mania. These episodes not only affect our moods but also our way of thinking and our actions. 

The symptoms of a major depressive episode is defined by the DSM 5 and listed on the Mayo Clinics website as follows

Depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day, such as feeling sad, empty, hopeless or tearful

• Markedly reduced interest or feeling no pleasure in all — or almost all — activities most of the day, nearly every day
• Significant weight loss when not dieting, weight gain, or decrease or increase in appetite nearly every day (in children, failure to gain weight as expected can be a sign of depression)
• Either insomnia or sleeping excessively nearly every day
• Either restlessness or slowed behavior that can be observed by others
• Fatigue or loss of energy nearly every day
• Feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt, such as believing things that are not true, nearly every day
• Decreased ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness, nearly every day
• Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide planning or attempt

To be considered a major depressive episode:

• Symptoms must be severe enough to cause noticeable difficulty in day-to-day activities, such as work, school, social activities or relationships
• Symptoms are not due to the direct effects of something else, such as alcohol or drug use, a medication or a medical condition
• Symptoms are not caused by grieving, such as after the loss of a loved one

Hypomania and mania symptoms are as follows

• A manic episode is a distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive or irritable mood that lasts at least one week (or less than a week if hospitalization is necessary). The episode includes persistently increased goal-directed activity or energy.

• A hypomanic episode is a distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive or irritable mood that lasts at least four consecutive days.

For both a manic and a hypomanic episode, during the period of disturbed mood and increased energy, three or more of the following symptoms (four if the mood is only irritable) must be present and represent a noticeable change from your usual behavior:

• Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity
• Decreased need for sleep (for example, you feel rested after only three hours of sleep)
• Unusual talkativeness
• Racing thoughts
• Distractibility
• Increased goal-directed activity (either socially, at work or school, or sexually) or agitation
• Doing things that are unusual and that have a high potential for painful consequences — for example, unrestrained buying sprees, sexual indiscretions or foolish business investments

To be considered a manic episode:

• The mood disturbance must be severe enough to cause noticeable difficulty at work, at school or in social activities or relationships; or to require hospitalization to prevent harm to yourself or others; or to trigger a break from reality (psychosis).
• Symptoms are not due to the direct effects of something else, such as alcohol or drug use; a medication; or a medical condition.

To be considered a hypomanic episode:

• The episode is a distinct change in mood and functioning that is not characteristic of you when the symptoms are not present, and enough of a change that other people notice.
• The episode isn't severe enough to cause significant difficulty at work, at school or in social activities or relationships, and it doesn't require hospitalization or trigger a break from reality.
• Symptoms are not due to the direct effects of something else, such as alcohol or drug use; a medication; or a medical condition.

As you can see these episodes are very different from the normal ups and downs of life. These episodes can have negative and sometimes lasting painful consequences for the person. Bipolar Disorder is more than just being moody.

There are different forms of Bipolar Disorder, for this post post I will touch upon types 1 and 2 only.

Bipolar 1 Disorder is characterized by a mania. This means that those who are diagnosed Bipolar 1 have had an actual manic state. This is the way that illness manifests with classic mania

Bipolar 2 Disorder is characterized by a hypo-manic episodes. People who have this type never have a full blown mania but instead have a softer hypo-manic episode. I use the term softer because the term less severe I think downplays the actual impact that they still have from it. Both types of Bipolar Disorder are serious mental illnesses are while yes Type 2 is milder in some senses it can be just as disruptive and debilitating as Type 1.

Like I said there are other types of Bipolar Disorder and also something which is known as a mixed state. These I will explore is future entries. For now I hope that you dear readers have learned a little something from this post. Feel free to comment, ask questions etc in replies.