Library · Disease
Bipolar disorder
Make it clearer
Bipolar disorder is a condition in which mood moves between two poles over time. One is depression, the low-mood pole. The other is mania: a distinct period in which mood is persistently elevated or irritable and the person has increased activity or energy. There is also hypomania, a form of that high pole that is notably less severe than mania. These episodes are chronic and they alternate.
Think of the volume on a radio. In depression, the mood volume stays low. In mania, it gets turned up too high: mood rises or becomes irritable, and energy and activity increase.
Why does it happen? No one knows yet. Several things seem to combine: genes, epigenetic factors, which change how genes are used without changing their content, brain chemistry, and the environment. Imbalances in two of the brain's chemical messengers, dopamine and serotonin, are thought to be involved, but no single abnormality in them has been identified. And it is often hard to recognize, because its symptoms resemble those of other psychiatric disorders and because the person may not notice what is happening to them, especially during hypomania.
In brief
Bipolar disorder involves chronic episodes of mania or hypomania alternating with depression. Mania is a distinct period of persistently elevated or irritable mood with increased activity or energy; hypomania is notably less severe.
Its cause is unknown; it seems to involve interacting genetic, epigenetic, neurochemical, and environmental factors, and dopamine and serotonin imbalances are thought to play a role, with no single dysfunction identified.
It is often hard to recognize: its symptoms overlap with other psychiatric disorders and, especially during hypomania, the person may not notice it.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingBipolar Disorder, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated