A mental health condition that used to be known as manic depression, is now commonly referred to as bipolar disorder. It is a condition that induces very extreme mood swings. These range from emotional highs to the other end of the scale, severe lows, and depressive symptoms.
Bipolar disorder usually requires professional mental health treatment to combat and treat the symptoms. Shifting from hypomania to depression is extremely challenging. Even if these violent mood swings occur rarely, they can have a severe impact on almost every aspect of your life.
Bipolar disorder is a condition that can stay with you for a lifetime. However, it can be managed with the help of an appropriate treatment plan. It helps to understand what a bipolar manic episode actually looks like.
Here are some key pointers about the condition and symptoms.
Recognizing the main symptoms
One of the first things to point out is that there are several types of bipolar disorders.
Bipolar 1 disorder is mainly characterized by having at least one manic episode. This might have followed or preceded a series of major depressive or hypomanic episodes. Mania is often described as a scenario where you feel detached from reality. This can also be referred to as psychosis.
Bipolar II disorder is when you have experienced a minimum of at least one major depressive episode but have not experienced a manic episode.
It should be noted that bipolar disorder II should not be considered a milder form of bipolar 1 disorder. Both of these disorders have the capacity to be dangerous and can range in severity too.
What happens when you have a manic or hypomanic episode?
A key point to bear in mind is that both mania and hypomania are very distinctive in their own right. They might share the same symptoms but mania is generally considered more severe than an episode of hypomania.
The following symptoms are common with both manic and hypomanic episodes –
You can often become more upbeat than is considered normal. You might also appear to be very jumpy or even a bit “wired”.
You can often experience extremes of energy or the need to be very active. It is also likely that you might become more agitated than normal.
Having an episode can also often create a very exaggerated sense of well-being. You might enter a euphoric state or feel a very high level of self-confidence.
Other common symptoms include a loss of reliance on the need to sleep, becoming highly talkative, and becoming easily distracted. Your usual rational decision-making thought processes can also be impaired by an episode. This can induce risky behavior, for instance.
Experiencing a depressive episode
A major depressive episode can heighten feelings of sadness and hopelessness. Your energy levels might also fall dramatically and you could experience either a bout of insomnia or you could go the other way and spend too long sleeping.
Understanding and recognizing these symptoms will help you reach out for the support and treatment you need to cope with bipolar disorder.