Bipolar Disorder And The Different Types

The three main types of bipolar disorder can be characterized by its manic depressive episodes. In a manic episode, the person is unusually irritable and has increased levels of energy and a decreased need for sleep. In a depressive episode, the person experience sadness, melancholy, loss of hope and tends to be tired and weak, leading to periods of inactivity. Different types of bipolar disorders differences concentrate mainly on the severity or combination of these episodes.

A type of bipolar disorder is Bipolar I and is considered a classic concept of a person suffering from manic depression syndrome. People who have bipolar I disorder have a more prolonged manic episodes which may last from a week to several months. During the manic phase of this type of bipolar disorder, the sufferer tends to experience self importance of the highest level, and illusions of grandeur.

The next classification after bipolar I is of course bipolar II disorder. In this type of bipolar disorder, the person does not suffer from a manic episode but rather experiences a milder hypomanic phase. In this way, delusions can be minimized and they can cope more than those who have bipolar I disorder. The hypomanic phase in this type of bipolar disorder can even feel so good that some peoples stop their medication so that they can experience this episode.

The third and last classification of the types of bipolar disorder is known as the cyclothymic disorder. The mood swings of the person who has this type is milder, as compared to the first two types. This condition has been there for quite some time waiting to be developed into a full blown bipolar disorder.

A symptom called rapid cycling can be considered as a sub-type of the mentioned types of bipolar disorder. People who have this kind of bipolar disorder experience four episode changes in the period of one year. Others may even experience suffer from multiple episodes within just a day, and can result in a severe depression as well as suicide attempts.