Bipolar Disorder - Symptoms and Cure

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What is bipolar disorder?


Bipolar disorder refers to a medical condition that leads to a person’s extreme mood swings, ranging from extremely depressed to high maniac. It usually happens due to genetics, the environment in which a person is living in, altered brain structure, etc.

What are the symptoms of bipolar disorder?


The symptoms range from a wide variety, as well as gender. Men women and even children portray different symptoms which help a professional to identify if he or she is bipolar or not. But, most of these symptoms overlap each other in one way or the other. Some of these symptoms include:

1. Anxiety

Anxiety is a key symptom of being bipolar. It refers to a feeling of worry or unease about a certain situation. It leads to nervousness in a person and he or she tends to withdraw himself or herself completely from that situation and stay alone. If it gets out of control, a person might also get an anxiety attack where he or she might feel pain in the chest, lightheaded, difficulty in breathing, or become extremely paranoid.

2. Euphoria

A person might become over-excited about most of the things happening around him or her. It can be normal, as well as a symptom of being bipolar. If the person gets happy or too carefree about something happening around him or her, it might later be associated with extreme mood swings, which take place when he or she is bipolar.

3. Loss of pleasure in activities

This usually refers to a loss of pleasure in sexual activities. It affects a person’s relationship with their significant other. He or she might not enjoy any activity with his or her partner which may further lead to dissatisfaction and a feeling of something being missing in the partner’s mind.

4. Loss of interest

The person might not want to indulge in activities that he or she enjoyed earlier. He or she will feel a loss of interest regarding that particular thing, as well as other things. This lack of interest will further lead to a lack of initiative and he or she might not want to do anything. This may lead to extreme boredom and depression.

5. Risk-taking behaviors and self-harm

One may notice that a person portrays a risk-taking behavior and is self-harming himself or herself or is on the verge of doing so. The person should immediately be taken for treatment so that he or she does not harm himself or herself.

6. Aggression


A person who is bipolar usually becomes aggressive at times where such behavior is not required. This might be because of the impulsive behavior shown by him or her in situations where he or she can not control the emotions brought into the mind in a particular situation. The aggression might also turn into a physical conflict.

What are the different types of bipolar disorders?

1. Bipolar I Disorder

This type of disorder is characterized either by depressive episodes lasting about 2 weeks which mainly consist of incidents of self-harm, feeling of guilt when there is no reason for it; or a week of manic episodes if they happen continually. A person might also be hospitalized before the 7 days if he or she is on the verge of self-harm or harm to others.

2. Bipolar II Disorder


Here, a person suffers between episodes of hypomania and depression. It means that he or she will either feel too optimistic and talk with great positivism in every situation, or he or she will feel depressed and have a lack of self-confidence to a great extent that he or she might even question his or her existence. The person is likely to suffer from insomnia, fatigue, and extreme mood swings.

3. Cyclothymic Disorder

The cyclothymic disorder has a comparatively lesser number of mood swings but they are very serious. They are very similar to bipolar II disorder, ranging from hypomania to depression irregularly. The symptoms of this disorder are usually mild. It can also happen to people who are highly successful in life. If this order turns serious and chronic, depression, irritability, and elevated mood swings might ruin their relationships or career.

Bipolar disorder can also be caused due to genetics, family problems, or extreme stress.

How to cure it?


Bipolar can be treated but it is usually a lifelong treatment. The treatment may consist of medications or psychotherapy or both, in extreme cases, hospitalization might also be required. The patient needs to see a doctor as soon as possible since it will be easier to treat this mental illness at an early stage. Mood swings come and go, but if the person is comparatively stable than before and is recovering with the help of medications, support groups can act as a great support in this journey of treatment and cure.

Written by - Hunnar Kaushal

Edited by - Chhavi Gupta