Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that causes changes in mood, emotions, and the ability to think clearly. Someone with bipolar disorder will experience alternating periods of mania and depression. These periods often disrupt daily life, making relationships, work, and school difficult.
What is mania and hypomania?
Mania is a dramatic elevation in mood and energy. The intensity of mania can vary from mild (hypomania) to severe (mania).
Mania can lead to hospitalizations and sometimes includes psychotic symptoms, such as delusions and paranoia. However, less severe or ‘mild mania,’ termed hypomania, often doesn’t lead people to seek help.
While hypomania can only sometimes be problematic enough for someone to seek professional assistance, it is often accompanied by depression. It is common that during these depressive episodes, people look towards seeking professional help, and the bipolar disorder is finally brought to light.
The mania and hypomania aspect of bipolar disorder is accompanied with:
- Inability to sleep
- Racing mind
- Feeling as if you have consumed too much caffeine or taken an illicit substance, such as cocaine
- Extreme self-confidence and self-belief that is out of the ordinary
- Lack of control or a fear of losing control
- High creativity
- Being extremely talkative
- Dramatically increased sex drive
- Behaving recklessly
- Behaving impulsively, for example booking a plane ticket last minute in search of an adventure
- Disregard for one’s safety, perhaps engaging in risky or irresponsible activities, such as gambling, spending sprees or unsafe sex
- Anxiety
- Delusions
- Hallucinations
- Paranoia