Overview
Bipolar disorder, also known as bipolar affective disorder and manic-depressive illness, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of elevated mood and periods of depression. The elevated mood is significant and is known as mania or hypomania depending on the severity or whether there is psychosis. During mania an individual feels or acts abnormally happy, energetic, or irritable. They often make poorly thought out decisions with little regard to the consequences. The need for sleep is usually reduced. During periods of depression there may be crying, poor eye contact with others, and a negative outlook on life. The risk of suicide among those with the disorder is high at greater than 6% over 20 years, while self harm occurs in 30–40%. Other mental health issues such as anxiety disorder and substance use disorder are commonly associated.
Signs And Symptoms
Mania is the defining feature of bipolar disorder, and can occur with different levels of severity. With milder levels of mania, known as hypomania, individuals appear energetic, excitable, and may be highly productive. As mania worsens, individuals begin to exhibit erratic and impulsive behavior, often making poor decisions due to unrealistic ideas about the future, and sleep very little. At the most severe level, manic individuals can experience very distorted beliefs about the world known as psychosis. A depressive episode commonly follows an episode of mania. The biological mechanisms responsible for switching from a manic or hypomanic episode to a depressive episode or vice versa remain poorly understood.
Manic Episodes
Mania is a distinct period of at least one week of elevated or irritable mood, which can take the form of euphoria, and exhibit three or more of the following behaviors (four if irritable): speak in a rapid, uninterruptible manner, are easily distracted, have racing thoughts, display an increase in goal-oriented activities or feel agitated, or exhibit behaviors characterized as impulsive or high-risk such as hypersexuality or excessive money spending. To meet the definition for a manic episode, these behaviors must impair the individual’s ability to socialize or work. If untreated, a manic episode usually lasts three to six months.
People with mania may also experience a decreased need for sleep, speak excessively in addition to speaking rapidly, and may have impaired judgment. Manic individuals often have issues with substance abuse due to a combination of thrill-seeking and poor judgment. At more extreme levels, a person in a manic state can experience psychosis, or a break with reality, a state in which thinking is affected along with mood. They may feel out of control or unstoppable, or as if they have been “chosen” and are on a special mission, or have other grandiose or delusional ideas. Approximately 50% of those with bipolar disorder experience delusions or hallucinations. This may lead to violent behaviors and hospitalization in an inpatient psychiatric hospital. The severity of manic symptoms can be measured by rating scales such as the Young Mania Rating Scale.
The onset of a manic (or depressive) episode is often foreshadowed by sleep disturbances. Mood changes, psychomotor and appetite changes, and an increase in anxiety can also occur up to three weeks before a manic episode develops.
Hypomanic Episodes
Hypomania is a milder form of mania defined as at least four days of the same criteria as mania, but does not cause a significant decrease in the individual’s ability to socialize or work, lacks psychotic features (i.e., delusions or hallucinations), and does not require psychiatric hospitalization. Overall functioning may actually increase during episodes of hypomania and is thought to serve as a defense mechanism against depression. Hypomanic episodes rarely progress to true manic episodes. Some hypomanic people show increased creativity while others are irritable or demonstrate poor judgment. Hypomanic people generally have increased energy and increased activity levels.
Hypomania may feel good to the person who experiences it. Thus, even when family and friends recognize mood swings, the individual will often deny that anything is wrong. What might be called a “hypomanic event”, if not accompanied by depressive episodes, is often not deemed as problematic, unless the mood changes are uncontrollable, volatile or mercurial. Most commonly, symptoms continue for a few weeks to a few months.
Depressive Episodes
Signs and symptoms of the depressive phase of bipolar disorder include persistent feelings of sadness, anxiety, guilt, anger, isolation, or hopelessness; disturbances in sleep and appetite; fatigue and loss of interest in usually enjoyable activities; problems concentrating; loneliness, self-loathing, apathy or indifference; depersonalization; loss of interest in sexual activity; shyness or social anxiety; irritability, chronic pain (with or without a known cause); lack of motivation; and morbid suicidal thoughts. In severe cases, the individual may become psychotic, a condition also known as severe bipolar depression with psychotic features. These symptoms include delusions or, less commonly, hallucinations, which are usually unpleasant. A major depressive episode persists for at least two weeks, and may continue for over six months if left untreated.
The earlier the age of onset, the more likely the first few episodes are to be depressive. Because a bipolar diagnosis requires a manic or hypomanic episode, many patients are initially diagnosed and treated as having major depression.
Mixed Affective Episodes
In the context of bipolar disorder, a mixed state is a condition during which symptoms of both mania and depression occur at the same time. Individuals experiencing a mixed state may have manic symptoms such as grandiose thoughts while at the same time experiencing depressive symptoms such as excessive guilt or feeling suicidal. Mixed states are considered to be high-risk for suicidal behavior since depressive emotions such as hopelessness are often paired with mood swings or difficulties with impulse control. Anxiety disorder occurs more frequently as a comorbidity in mixed bipolar episodes than in non mixed bipolar depression or mania. Substance abuse (including alcohol) also follows this trend.
Associated Features
Associated features are clinical phenomena that often accompany the disorder but are not part of the diagnostic criteria. In adults with the condition, bipolar disorder is often accompanied by changes in cognitive processes and abilities. These include reduced attentional and executive capabilities and impaired memory. How the individual processes the world also depends on the phase of the disorder, with differential characteristics between the manic, hypomanic and depressive states. Some studies have found a significant association between bipolar disorder and creativity. Those with bipolar disorder may have difficulty in maintaining relationships. There are several common childhood precursors seen in children who later receive a diagnosis of bipolar disorder; these disorders include mood abnormalities, full major depressive episodes, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Comorbid Conditions
The diagnosis of bipolar disorder can be complicated by coexisting (comorbid) psychiatric conditions including the following: obsessive-compulsive disorder, substance abuse, eating disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, social phobia, premenstrual syndrome (including premenstrual dysphoric disorder), or panic disorder. A careful longitudinal analysis of symptoms and episodes, enriched if possible by discussions with friends and family members, is crucial to establishing a treatment plan where these comorbidities exist.