Bipolar Disorder: Symptoms, Causes, and Diagnosis

Bipolar disorder is a mental health disorder that causes severe mood swings, including emotional highs, like euphoria, meaning excitement and depressive lows. Bipolar disorder affects an individual’s energy levels, behaviour, and ability to perform daily tasks.

This article gives overviews bipolar disorder symptoms, its causes, and diagnosis options.

What Is Bipolar Disorder?

Bipolar disorder is a chronic mood disorder causing dramatic shifts in mood of an individual. These fluctuations range from manic episodes (characterised by euphoria, meaning intense excitement and increased activity) to depressive episodes (low energy phase) and are more severe than typical mood changes.

What are Types of Bipolar Disorder?

Bipolar disorder is usually classified into four types:

1. Bipolar I Disorder: This type is characterised by at least one severe manic episode, followed by depressive lows, where energy and motivation drop significantly. Manic episodes include high impulsivity, and euphoria, meaning intense excitement.
2. Bipolar II Disorder: People with this type have hypomania, a milder high-energy phase where a person feels restless but can still manage routine life. It is followed by long depressive episodes that feel low and tiring.
3. Cyclothymic Disorder: A milder form of bipolar disorder, where mood swings happen frequently but are not intense. They do not meet the full criteria for mania or major depression.
4. Other Unspecified Bipolar Disorders: Some people show bipolar disorder symptoms that don’t exactly fit into the above types of bipolar disorder. Mood instability is still severe and significant disruptions in daily life are experienced.

What are Bipolar Disorder Symptoms?

Bipolar disorder symptoms vary significantly in different individuals. It depends on whether an individual is experiencing a manic or depressive episode.

Manic Symptoms: A manic episode makes an individual feel highly energetic and impulsive. Its symptoms include:

• Euphoria, meaning extreme excitement or confidence.
• Feeling rested with little sleep.
• Rapid speech and racing thoughts.
• Impulsive behaviour.
• Increased energy and restlessness.

Depressive Symptoms: Depressive episodes can be overwhelming and last longer. Its symptoms are:

• Persistent sadness, hopelessness and fatigue.
• Loss of Interest.
• Drastic changes in appetite or sleep.
• Trouble while focusing or making decisions.
• Suicidal tendencies or increased thoughts of self-harm.

Bipolar disorder symptoms in females can be milder but last longer. Women are more likely to experience mood swings due to their hormonal changes and rapid cycling (four or more mood episodes per year).

What are the Bipolar Disorder Causes?

The exact bipolar disorder causes are not fully known, but it often develops due to a mix of the following factors:

1. Genetic Factors: A person with a close relative who has bipolar disorder is at a higher risk of developing bipolar disorder.
2. Brain Chemistry and Structure: Bipolar disorder can happen when hormones released by brain, like serotonin and dopamine, which help control mood, are unbalanced. This imbalance causes extreme mood swings. Brain scans also show differences in areas that control emotions.
3. Hormonal Changes: Hormonal changes directly affect brain chemicals like serotonin and dopamine, which help regulate mood. In females, when hormones fluctuate during puberty, pregnancy, menopause, or menstruation, they can disrupt mood stability. This can trigger manic or depressive episodes, making bipolar disorder symptoms more severe.
4. Environmental Triggers: Individuals with a genetic risk of bipolar disorder can be triggered by certain life events. It can trigger manic episodes, like euphoria, meaning excess excitement or impulsivity, or depressive lows. Some common triggers include:

• Stressful events like job loss, trauma, or relationship problems.
• Use of drugs and alcohol.
• Sleep problems

While these bipolar disorder causes do not directly create the condition, they can influence its onset and severity.

How Is Bipolar Disorder Diagnosed?

Diagnosing bipolar disorder is complex, as bipolar disorder symptoms can often intertwine with other mental health conditions. Hence, doctors rely on a combination of assessments like these:

• Clinical Assessment: A psychiatrist evaluates personal and family history, symptom patterns, and their impact on daily life.
• Diagnostic Criteria (DSM-5): This test is used to classify types of bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder requires a person to have experienced at least one mania or hypomania, with or without depressive episodes.
• Medical Tests: Blood tests and brain scans are used to rule out other conditions that may cause similar mood changes.

Early diagnosis and proper management of bipolar disorder can help individuals lead stable lives. For individuals experiencing mood swings or emotional distress, seeking professional help is essential. Hence, they must consult a doctor and book blood tests at Dr Lal PathLabs for effective diagnosis and treatment.

FAQ’s

Q1. How is bipolar disorder diagnosed?

A psychiatrist assesses bipolar disorder symptoms and family history and may recommend medical tests to rule out other conditions.

Q2. What are the bipolar disorder causes?

Bipolar disorder causes are not fully known but a multitude of factors contribute to it, like genetics, brain chemistry, hormonal changes, environmental triggers etc.

Q. What is euphoria meaning pertains to in bipolar disorder?

In the context of bipolar disorder, euphoria meaning pertains to a state of intense or excessive excitement and pleasure.

Q4. What is euphoria meaning in manic symptoms of bipolar disorder?

One of the common manic symptoms of bipolar disorder is euphoria, meaning intense excitement or happiness.