Bipolar Disorder Explained: Symptoms, Types, and Diagnosis

Are you suffering from extreme levels of mood swings? If yes, that’s a sign of bipolar disorder. Visit a Mental Health Clinic to find out more.

Bipolar disorder is a mental disorder that leads to extreme mood swings. And it’s a lifelong condition. But you can manage this condition with treatment. Early diagnosis and treatment improve symptoms and response time drastically.

To learn more in detail about bipolar disorder, keep reading this article.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 5 million people (about twice the population of Mississippi) in the US are suffering from this disease. While there is no cure available right now, there are treatments available that can help you to manage its symptoms and help to live a healthy life. The only way to prevent those complications is to take treatment from a doctor or psychiatrist.

Causes

While researchers don’t know what exactly causes bipolar disorder, they assume that biological or environmental factors are behind the development of bipolar disease.

  1. Biological factor: Biological factors such as the size of the brain and structure can be the cause in some cases of bipolar disorder. Genetics is the main biological factor that researchers believe causes bipolar disorder because more than ⅔ of people who suffer from the bipolar disease have a relative who suffers from bipolar disorder.
  2. Environmental factor: Environmental factors such as chronic stress and trauma might be the cause of bipolar disorder.

Symptoms

You can experience symptoms of mania, hypomania, or depression. Symptoms can change unpredictably according to mood and behavior. A person can experience many changes in mood and behavior or a period of euthymia (a period where you have a normal mood) in between.

Risk factors

Some risk factors that increase the chances of developing bipolar disorder:

  • Having a close relative or parent who suffers from bipolar disorder.
  • Suffering from chronic stress or experiencing the death of loved ones or having a traumatic event.
  • Alcohol and drug abuse.

Diagnosis

To diagnose bipolar disorder, the doctor asks about your symptoms and medical history. He also asks about the medical history of your family.

Other tests include:

  • He can order a physical to check if you have any injury to your head.
  •  A blood test to check if the symptoms you are experiencing are caused by some other disease.
  • A mental health evaluation test, to check your mental health. This evaluation is done by a psychiatrist or psychologist.

To be diagnosed with bipolar disorder, you need to experience at least one episode of your extreme mood swing in front of the doctor. So that they can assess your symptoms and determine the diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

People who have bipolar disorder also have these mental conditions such as – post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). And because of this their memory is impaired. They don’t remember what they did or experienced. And they are not able to explain their condition to anybody.

And sometimes severe bipolar disorder is often misdiagnosed as schizophrenia or borderline personality disorder (BPD). That’s why you must be fully honest with your doctor while explaining the symptoms.


Bipolar disorder is a chronic disease that gives you extreme mood swings, energy levels, and behavior. It can harm your daily life and the people near you. So, whenever you experience an episode, go to the doctor to get a treatment plan to maintain your normal life.



Want to know what treatment can help to battle bipolar disorder? Doral Health and Wellness has the best Doctors and Psychiatrists that specialize in Behavioral health make accurate diagnoses, and craft tailored treatment programs. The medical, and rehabilitation care provided by the best our Mental health Clinic is unparalleled. Visit us at 1797 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11212.

In order to schedule a consultation with the best Mental health Clinic in East New York, please call on +1-347-384-5690 and get answers to all your queries.