Create a new account

It's simple, and free.

Categories of Bipolar depression

Bipolar depression is the depressed phase of bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive disorder, a mood disorder which results in drastic mood swings ranging from manic phases to depressive ones (Ford-Martin, 1999). In the United States, almost two million people suffer from bipolar disorder, which usually has its onset in adolescence through the early twenties. However, because it is a complex disorder, it is often not diagnosed until later in life. Bipolar depression is often misdiagnosed as unipolar depression, and treated with antidepressants, which can actually destabilize bipolar depression (Manisses, 2002).

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), there are four categories of bipolar disorder: bipolar I, bipolar II, cyclothymia, and bipolar not-otherwise-specified (NOS) (Ford-Martin, 1999). Bipolar 1 is characterized by a manic phase, which is usually followed by a period of depression. Depression often occurs combined with a manic episode, such as when a patient is depressed, but has racing thoughts. People with bipolar II have major depressive episodes alternating with periods of hypomania, which is milder than the mania of bipolar I patients. These people tend to have low energy, mental retardation and retarded physical processes, and have profound fatigue and hypersomnia, an excessive need for sleep. Patients with cyclothymia have cycling episodes of hypomania and depression, but the depression is not major. These people often develop bipolar I or bipolar II later in life. Rapid cycling occurs in approximately 20 percent of bipolar I and bipolar II patients, with manic and depressive episodes cycling at least four times a year. Bipolar NOS is a diagnosis for patients who do not fit clearly into either bipolar I, bipolar II or cyclothymia diagnoses.

Bipolar disorder does not have a clearly defined cause (Ford-Martin, 1999). As many as two-...

Page 1 of 7 Next >

More on Categories of Bipolar depression...

Loading...
APA     MLA     Chicago
Categories of Bipolar depression. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 09:46, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1701577.html