- With Mayo Clinic psychiatrist
Gabrielle J. Melin, M.D.
Latest entries
- Managing depression during the holidays
Dec. 23, 2009
- Thyroid disease: Can it worsen depression?
Dec. 19, 2009
- Is light therapy a good depression treatment option?
Dec. 9, 2009
- Alcohol and depression: What are the risks?
Dec. 3, 2009
- Being grateful: Giving thanks helps with depression
Nov. 18, 2009
Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Depression blog
-
Aug. 22, 2008
Bipolar isn't simple; there can be many sets of symptoms
By Gabrielle J. Melin, M.D.
Bipolar affective disorder is a disorder of mood that involves a depressive phase and a nondepressed or manic phase.
| Need more help? |
|
The specific set of symptoms is important as some medications, such as Lamictal, are better for a mixed bipolar episode. Medications used to treat bipolar (mood stabilizers) are different than medications used to treat depression.
The manic phase is characterized by elevated or irritable mood plus 3 to 4 of the following symptoms happening during the same time period (at least one week continuously):
- Decreased need for sleep (feeling refreshed on little sleep)
- Decreased appetite
- Grandiosity (inflated sense of self worth)
- Distractibility
- Excessive involvement in pleasurable activities that have a high potential for painful consequences (buying sprees, sexual indiscretion, foolish business ventures)
- Flight of ideas (talking and thinking that jumps from one topic to another-racing thoughts)
- Increase in activities involving school, work or social life
- Agitation
The person may also experience psychosis, which means being out of touch with reality. The manic phase is a change in previous life functioning that is not caused by drugs or alcohol. The manic phase alternates with a depressive phase.
The Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) is a self-screening tool that can be used in conjunction with a visit to a mental health provider. Mood swings alone do not mean you have bipolar. Borderline personality symptoms can look like bipolar and other mental illness, too. Time and accurate information help to make the correct diagnosis and provide the best treatment.
81 comments posted