Differentiating Each Bipolar Symptom

Bipolar disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis characterized by swings between depression and mania with mixed symptoms. It is categorized as either Bipolar I (BP-I) or Bipolar II (BP-II). This disorder has many variations. But in general, a person with bipolar disorder swings from depression to abnormal elation, or mania.

One bipolar symptom is hypomania. It is a mood state wherein the patient experiences relentless and pervading elation or irritability. This bipolar symptom is differentiated from mania by the absence of psychosis-related symptoms and the lower level of impact on functioning. Some mood disorders like bipolar II disorder and cyclothymia are characterized by hypomania. Cyclothymia is a condition of persistent mood fluctuations between hypomania and clinical depression of lower intensity than would be expected in bipolar disorder. and sometimes interspersed with periods of normal moods.

In the elated phase, this bipolar symptom renders the patients in their most productive and successful mood. It causes the affected persons to feel like they can’t slow their mind down. The patients tend to display above-average creativity and superior productiveness. Hypomanic episodes also cause patients to have exaggerated self-pride, become more talkative than usual and have a flood of ideas. This bipolar symptom is unlike acute forms of mania because the patient has full awareness of what they are doing. Possible benefits of this bipolar symptom include: being comfortable capable of logical thoughts and actions; being immune to fear and doubt and finding delight in simple activities.

The depressive phase in hypomania is associated with distress and disturbance and a relatively high risk of suicide. The bipolar symptoms in this particular phase of the disorder include (but in no way are limited to): persistent feelings of sadness, anxiety, guilt and anger. In this phase, the bipolar symptoms may also cause the patients to go into isolation, feel hopeless, lose interest in daily activities, have problems concentrating, experience sleep disturbances and fatigue, and lose or develop sudden increase in sexual activity. It is suggested that patients experiencing a hypomanic state may potentially profit from the mental stimulation in certain situations.

The mixed state is a combination of manic and depressive symptoms which occur at the same time. This bipolar symptom can be the most explosive because moods can easily be instigated or switched. During this state, patients may attempt suicide, resort to substance abuse or afflict injury on themselves.

Another bipolar symptom found in a significant fraction of people with bipolar disorder is rapid cycling. It is a condition wherein patients experience having four or more distinct periods of depression, hypomania, mixed states, or mania in a time period of one year. It has been associated with greater disability or a worse prognosis, due to the confusing changeability and difficulty in establishing a stable state.

In bipolar I disorder, a manic episode may occur before the onset of hypomanic symptoms. In bipolar II disorder, there may be an occurrence of at least one major depressive episode and at least one hypomanic episode that does not progress into psychotic mania.