Understanding Bipolar Disorder

What is Bipolar Disorder?

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive-illness, is a treatable mood disorder characterized by mood swings. People may experience unusual emotional highs, called mania, and unusual emotional lows, called depression. We all experience normal mood changes, for example, the death of a loved one or the loss of a job can trigger profound sadness, while a great success may trigger elation. People with bipolar disorder emotional experience emotional extremes that are not necessarily related to life events. Mood swings may range from mild to severe, lasting a few hours to days, weeks, or even months. Symptoms of the disorder can interfere with a person’s ability to carry out everyday activities, damage relationships, and sometimes end in suicide.

Bipolar disorder affects anywhere from 1-3.7% of the population. In the past it was believed to typically start in late adolescence or early adulthood, although recent studies have shown a 40 % increase in the diagnosis of bipolar disorder in children and adolescence and this continues to rise. A number of experts consider this to be a move forward in the field of psychiatry and a recognition that bipolar disorder begins much earlier than was originally believed. This disorder affects men and women in equal numbers, and people of all social, ethnic, and economic backgrounds.