What is a Bipolar Disorder?

Being bipolar is specific set of mood disorders that engage multiple levels of abnormal moods which is referred to as mania.

Patients that experience these episodes can experience both depression and mania at the same time, which is a form of mood cycling during with the patient will experience severe mood swings.

The clinical definition of the condition known as Bipolar and the accompanying disorders are as follows:

Bipolar I: For the patients experiencing bipolar I, the patient will have experienced a manic episode that may include a bout of major clinical depression. However, for a case of Bipolar I according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a case of major depression must accompany the bout of Bipolar I to be categorized clinically.

Bipolar II: The psychiatric condition known as Bipolar II is recognized by the manic – or hypomanic – episodes in which the patient shall experience a major clinically depressive episode. Bipolar II is less severe than Bipolar I in that the patient will not range to the full extent of mania which makes this condition much more difficult to diagnose as compared to Bipolar I.

Bipolar NOS: For patients that are diagnosed with Bipolar NOS, this is referred to as a type of Bipolar disorder which serves as a catch-all diagnosis which is used to classify a Bipolar disorder that is not as clearly defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. While this condition may not be as easily identified as Bipolar I or Bipolar II it is still severe enough to be detrimental to the continued health of the patient.