What's Bipolar Disorder?

Question

I know it's a mental disease,but what does it do

Answer 1

Basically it is when a person goes from one extreme to another. one minute they are happy the next they are depressed. If you are dating a bipolar you might want to reconsider.

Answer 2

I have a cousin who is bipolar...and basically...she could be totally happy one second then all of a sudden be pissed off and start screaming....

idk...thats how is see it..I could be wrong

but heres something i found on a website..

So let's put it in terms everyone can understand. Bipolar disorder is an illness that affects thoughts, feelings, perceptions and behavior ... even how a person feels physically (known clinically as psychosomatic presentations). It's probably caused by electrical and chemical elements in the brain not functioning properly

Most often, a person with manic-depression experiences moods that shift from high to low and back again in varying degrees of severity. The two poles of bipolar disorder are mania and depression. This is the least complicated form of the illness.

Answer 3

Bipolar disorder is not a single disorder, but a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated mood, clinically referred to as mania. Individuals who experience manic episodes also commonly experience depressive episodes or symptoms, or mixed episodes in which features of both mania and depression are present at the same time. These episodes are normally separated by periods of normal mood, but in some patients, depression and mania may rapidly alternate, known as rapid cycling. Extreme manic episodes can sometimes lead to psychotic symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations. The disorder has been subdivided into bipolar I, bipolar II, Bipolar NOS, and cyclothymia based on the type and severity of mood episodes experienced.

Also called bipolar affective mood disorder until recently, the current name is of fairly recent origin and refers to the cycling between high and low episodes; it has replaced the older term manic-depressive illness coined by Emil Kraepelin (1856–1926) in the late nineteenth century.[1] The new term is designed to avoid the social stigma associated with the conflation of "manic" and "depression."

And it's not a mental disease, if it was, you'd die from it. (lol)

Answer 4

Go to:

http://www.bipolar.com/

It is a very comprehensive website that answers most of your questions about symptoms, treatment, medication options, etc.

Good luck!

Answer 5

it makes u change emotions a any givin time, so like u cud be reely happy and then all of a sudden ett reely sad and derpressed

Answer 6

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipolar_dis...

There you go.  

Answer 7

you can be extremely moody,with extreme mood swings. One minute you could be singing and the next you could be feeling depressed.  Unpredictable.

Answer 8

you switch emotions like rapidly,

for example you can be happy on second and then you will start screaming the next.

Answer 9

it is a disease that cause people to have fast move swings, for example one moment the person will be happy and the next they will be depressed and try and do something dangerous to themself or others.

Answer 10

A person with bipolar disorder passes back and forth between two "phases" - a really low "depression" phase, and a really high "manic" phase.

These stages can last months at a time, and can also switch quickly.  Obvouisly neither being really depressed nor really hyper/overactive/etc. is ideal, which is why individuals with bipolar take medication - it is to give the individual as much balance between the two "phases" as possible, so they can live a "normal" life.

Hope this helped!

Answer 11

Well, speaking from personal experience having lived with a person with it... it can be a very scary thing to experiecce.

The basics are the people with the disorder or "imbalance" vary with their thoughts and actions.

They think they are better than everyone else,no debates.

They do uncontrollable things such as sleep, eat out of control,  uncontrolable shopping sprees, have this grander than everyone attitude, mood swings, some become violent, others place blame and never accept responsibility.

To go into it a bit deep on what I wrote above:

Sleeping:  Because they know they did something wrong, example: going to Target for tp and coming out with $200 worth of meaningless c**p.  Then they (sometimes) realize that the family is financially hurting and the money would have been better spent on a past due bill and they get depressed and think if they sleep, the problem will go away.

They eat when they did something wrong as a form of depression.

They will literally try to convince you they have "friends in high places".

They think they are untouchable and everything IS going to be their way, no matter what they have to do.

I've read that most people that are bipolar also have other "disorders" like being a sociopath and depression.  But with the RIGHT doctors care and medication (and without self medicating) they can be "functional" to the point of nornal, but even when/if prescribed meds there is trial and error of what works best for a person including bloodwork to check you chemical balances.  This is not something that ggoes away, and can effect someone wanting to have children (females) because they can't be on any bipolar meds before, during and if breast feeding then after having a baby.  But, at the same time it isn't anything that needs to be made public that the disorder was diagnosed, unless that is what that person wants.  I WILL TELL YOU, it is something better to have corrected than to live with, it can get really bad.

If there is anything else more specific I can explain, just email!  

Answer 12

Self-inflicted 'mental illness'...

People render themselves with a 'disorder' to explain the normality of human emotion.  

Answer 13

It's like when a person can be totally calm and normal at one time, but just a little thing can make them turn in a second and the next they just totally lash out. My dad has it, it's very serious and it can get scary. :(

Answer 14

Bi-polar is a nice name for Schizophrenia.It can make a person have quick changes in personality and emotions.One moment happy,next morbidly sad.Fortunately there are drugs that control the symptoms.

People I know with this,lead perfectly normal lives.

Answer 15

i have bipolar disorder. basically you're really moody. and not normal person moody. without meds, people you're around a lot might think you're a little crazy. there's 2 types i think. but when im sad, im reeeeally depressed, almost suicidal, when im happy, im euphoric and hyper. my moods change quickly and randomly most of the time.

Answer 16

It causes sudden changes in mood swings, such as being content one moment, then depressed or insecure the next. People diagnosed with it take medication to surpress the mood swings however.

Answer 17

Wow.  A lot of misinformation.  Per the DSM (psychiatric diagnostic bible), periods of depression and mania have to last at least a week or longer for a bipolar diagnosis.  All this happy/sad one minute to the next sounds more like puberty, or it could be a lot of stereotype posting.  That type of cycling occurs in children and very young teens.  It is *extremely* rare in older teens or adults.  

There also are three main bipolar states - depression, mania, and mixed state (depression and mania together).  Not all experience mixed states but very many do, especially as they get older.

Rapid cycling is having mood shifts more than four times a year.  This is not so common.  Within a day is ultrarapid cycling, and as mentioned, is very rare.  What is not so rare is being overly reactive, borderline personality disorder, or borderline and bipolar together.  These can explain some happy-sad minute to minute changes, but that's about reactivity or borderline, not bipolar.

Some sites

http://bipolar.about.com

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/bipolar...

someone already gave the National Institute of Health

Btw, bipolar is experienced a little differently by everyone who has it.  Each are individuals.  Like any other people, some are wonderful, some you don't want to know.  On the right meds, nearly all can live a normal life with nearly no one knowing they have the illness.

Answer 18

Bipolar diesease is when you have whack emotions. For example someone died and your crying then a minute later ur laughing.  

Answer 19

Bipolar disorder is an illness bipolar illness of severe mood swings. It is also called manic depression. If you have this bipolar illness illness, you may have periods of severe high or low moods. These periods may impact your day-to-day functioning.

The high moods are called acute mania. They can make you feel restless, grouchy, or very happy. The low moods are called depression. They can make you feel very sad.

Some people can have a mixed state. That's when you have acute mania and depression at the same time.

Both women and men get bipolar disorder in equal numbers. The disease is usually first seen in adults 18 and older.

Answer 20

Bipolar disorder IS NOT just mood swings.  It is having extream mood episodes of both severe depression, and of mania (high energy, reckless behavior/spending, racing thoughts and so on).

The moods are not because of life circumstances.  And most often not rapid frequent changes.  Most people with bipolar have episodes that untreated last months.  Also, most people with bipolar DO have periods of normal mood between the extream episodes

Answer 21

Bipolar disorder is also known as manic-depressive illness. It is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person’s mood, energy, and ability to function. Bipolar disorder is not a single disorder, but a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated mood. If you have this disorder, it can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance, and even suicide.

In any given year about 5.7 million American adults (about 2.6 percent of the population) age 18 and older have bipolar disorder.

Answer 22

There are some answers here that are wrong. Bipolar disorder does not cause a person to change from happy to sad within a "minute."

People who suffer from bipolar depression have a stage of depression and a stage of mania, and it usually changes within a few weeks, or even months.

The "one minute you're sad, and then you're happy" occurs in some people with bipolar disorder, and this is called rapid cycling.

Lastly, a person with bipolar disorder is never "happy." The happy stage of bipolar disorder is called "mania," and this is when a person engages in risky activities, such as promiscuity. Bipolar disorder is a very serious illness, and a person with it should really be treated to protect him/herself and those around him/her.

Answer 23

emo happy emo happy emo happy

Answer 24

Bipolar is also known as manic depressive. Basically, it is extreme depression. You are very happy one day and then sad the next day, then angry the next. Your emotions do like a rollercaoster ride.  

Answer 25

Use to be called manic depressive disorder. You have times when everything is racing, you are "up" all the time, creative, not much sleep and you do some crazy things. Then, there are times when you have a lead blanket on you, you don't want to move or even get out of bed, the world sucks and you wanna die. Followed by the manic highs again after a few weeks. It sucks, trust me, I know. But, you deal.

Answer 26

It's a disease where you have mood swings constantly.

For example:

One minute your happy, and next your crying.

but it's only bipolar disorder when you have severe mood swings alot of the time.

Answer 27

mood swings i think.

but you just can't diagnose yourself, because you think you have mood swings.

ask a doctor for more information.

Answer 28

The ups and downs of Bipolar:

One day you may feel so depressed that you can't get out of bed. Work may seem impossible.

On another day you may feel great and full of endless energy. You may feel like you’re getting a lot done. But other people might think that what you are doing is dangerous and out of control.

These ups and downs can be too much for a person to cope with. They can interfere with daily life. Sometimes they can even be dangerous.

Bipolar disorder is a lifelong condition. It can be hard for healthcare providers to diagnose. But it's nothing to be embarrassed about. Learning more about how to manage the condition can help. See the links for additional information and resources:

http://www.bipolar.com/what_is_bipolar/t...

http://www.bipolar.com/living_with_bipol...

The following is partial list of people who are or were affected by Bipolarism:  (some people aspired to great things in spite of it)

Buzz Aldrin, astronaut

Ozzy Osbourne, singer

Ted Turner, entrepreneur, media giant

Winston Churchill, British statesman

Jimmy Piersall, baseball player

Charley Pride, country music artist.

Jane Pauley, TV presenter and journalist

Sir Isaac Newton, pioneering scientist and mathematician

Ernest Hemingway, writer

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, writer

Abraham Lincoln, U.S. President

William Faulkner, writer.

Stephen Foster, songwriter.

Edgar Allan Poe, poet and writer

Mark Twain, author

Jean-Claude Van Damme, actor

Vincent Van Gogh, artist.

more are here:

http://www.bipolarsupport.org/famous.htm...

Answer 29

Bipolar disorder is the same a manic depression.  It causes the person to have highs and lows in their moods.  These can change instantly and can last for long periods of time.

"With bipolar disorder, life can be like an emotional roller coaster. One day your mood is low and you feel sad. Then your mood gets really high and you feel great. Then the sadness comes back."  (Bipolar.com)

Answer 30

It makes you change emotions suddenly and unexpectedly. Like at one instance you are mad the next you are happy. It is when someone's emotions are all messed up and somewhat uncontrollable.

Answer 31

It is a mental disorder that simply causes a person to to be extremly moody. You can be happy one minute then depressed another. My friend who is bipolar is usually so depressed that she wants to kill herself sometimes.