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Signs You Might Have Bipolar Disorder
About 4% of Americans experience bipolar disorder at some point during their life, but many others are never diagnosed. If you have extreme mood swings that leave you unable to cope with everyday life, you may have bipolar disorder. It’s not a “life sentence without parole.” You can live a full life with this disorder with help and understanding.
Bipolar disorder is underdiagnosed because some people may not recognize they have a mental illness but know they don’t always function normally, which makes life more difficult than it should be.
Our board-certified psychiatric nurse practitioner Jeanne Nicholson, with Nicholson Psychiatry, provides compassionate care for patients with bipolar disorder. Nurse Nicholson can help you understand your symptoms and your diagnosis and help you chart your future. With medication and therapeutic support, you can lead a productive life.
Intense mood changes characterize bipolar disorder
Do you have prolonged periods where you just feel excitable? You race through what you want to say, can’t stop talking, and feel restless. You enter a period called hypomania. These times may be followed by weeks when you feel deep fatigue and sadness. You may have trouble accomplishing anything during this period when you’re very depressed.
These intense mood shifts characterize bipolar disorder. A wide range of symptoms may occur when mood shifts happen.
There’s a difference between simple mood swings and bipolar disorder. Psychiatrists classify Bipolar I disorder as a type of mania, periods of intense, high mood. It can also include depressive episodes involving sadness and feelings of worthlessness. Bipolar II disorder features more depressive episodes, with periods of hypomania.
When you have bipolar disorder, your mood changes last a long time. You don’t swing from intense activity to listlessness numerous times a day, as some people believe. Bipolar mood changes can be so debilitating that you can’t complete work assignments or accomplish tasks of daily living, such as cooking, washing dishes, or other similar activities.
Symptoms of bipolar mania
Bipolar manic episodes can last longer than one week. Signs that you may be in a manic episode include the following:
- Feeling extremely euphoric
- Unable to sleep as much as you normally do
- Feeling restless, irritated, or agitated
- Unable to slow down racing thoughts
- Being easily distracted
- Talking very fast
- Acting impulsively (including risky behaviors such as drinking or gambling)
- Feeling overly confident
- Starting new projects one after another or taking on too much at one time
These symptoms are easy for those close to you to spot. You may not realize them until someone points out how your behavior has changed.
Symptoms of bipolar depression
If you’re in a depressive episode, it may last longer than two weeks. Signs you might be in a depressive episode include the following:
- Deep feelings of sadness you can’t shake
- Feeling hopeless
- Feeling of guilt and self-blame
- Fatigue
- Change in appetite
- Abnormal sleep pattern
- Unable to concentrate
- Not able to enjoy activities you normally like
- Thoughts of death or self-harm
- Slower speech (others likely notice)
Unfortunately, bipolar depressive episodes can be long-lasting, rendering you unable to continue life in the same way as in the past. Hypomanic episodes happen between the depressive episodes (but much less often) and last at least four days.
Symptoms of cyclothymic disorder
The American Psychiatric Association identifies a milder type of disorder, called cyclothymic disorder. The mood changes aren’t as severe, but you can experience both manic and depressive symptoms.
If you have this milder form of bipolar disorder, symptoms can happen on and off for at least two years. Over that period, symptoms (either depression or mania) occur at least 50% of the time, while symptom-free periods last two months or less.
We’re here to support you if you have bipolar disorder
If many of these symptoms describe you and you suspect you have bipolar disorder, our physicians are here to help you. With a combination of medication, therapy, and lifestyle support, we provide personalized care to help you regain quality of life.
Contact Nicholson Psychiatry or book an appointment through our online portal today for therapeutic support for bipolar disorder.