BIPOLAR DISORDER

Bipolar disorder, formerly referred to as manic-depression, is a mental illness characterized by alternating periods of depression and mania. Mania is a mood of undue elation and excitability often accompanied by hallucinations and increased activity. It may be characterized by a loss of interest in all things pleasurable such as food, friends, work, and sex. Depression may be a normal reaction, or it may be a pathological state. There's no clear-cut boundary between the two; a diagnosis of depressive illness usually is make when the degree or duration of symptoms is out of proportion to the apparent cause.

The main symptom of all depression is a persistent unhappy mood. Generally, someone diagnosed with bipolar disorder will have at least five of the following eight symptoms:

• a poor appetite
• difficulty sleeping
• loss of energy
• slowness of thought
• poor concentration
• feelings of guilt
• loss of interest in activities
• recurrent thoughts of death or suicide

Treatment depends on the exact psychiatric classification of the depression.

For more information on bipolar disorder, contact a counselor at the BABBCENTER at 824.3772 or 800.458.1755.