People with bipolar disorder exhibit two sets of symptoms: Extreme highs (mania or hypomania) and Extreme lows (depression).
Manic phase: During periods of mania, the person behaves impulsively, makes decisions without proper judgment, and takes unusual risks. Also, the person ignores or is unaware of any negative consequences of their unpredictable actions.
- A feeling of absolute happiness that nothing (not even bad news or tragic events) can change things
- Sudden rage or extreme irritability
- May have highly ambitious delusions or strong beliefs that do not have a logical reasoning. The person may claim that he or she has a special connection with God, celebrities, or historical characters.
- Unrealistic beliefs in one’s abilities. For example, the person may think that nothing can prevent them from accomplishing a difficult task.
- Inability to control impulsive actions and risky behavior like splurging on unwanted things, foolish business investments, reckless driving, or extreme sexual behavior.
- Uncontrollable thoughts running continuously in the mind
- Inability to sleep which may cause restlessness and hyperactivity
- Difficulty in concentration, being unable to do normal activities
- Feeling of frustration and being irritable during most times of the day
- Rapid speech, jumping from one idea to the another, lack of coherence in thought
- Losing sense of reality, which can lead to psychosis (hallucinations – seeing or hearing things that are not there)
- Overly high self-esteem and unrealistic beliefs in one’s capabilities
- Obsessive compulsive behavior – cleaning or organizing things, listening to the same music for days together, trying to dominate or take control over people
Depressed phase: During a period of depression, the person may experience the following:
- Intense sadness or despair, hopeless or irritable most of the time
- Loss of energy, tendency to feel easily tired and lethargic
- difficulty concentrating and remembering things
- loss of interest in everyday activities including those they once enjoyed
- feelings of emptiness or worthlessness
- feelings of guilt and despair
- feeling pessimistic about everything
- self-doubt
- being delusional, having hallucinations and disturbed or illogical thinking
- Change in appetite, unable to eat well, significant weight loss without dieting
- Difficulty in sleeping; sleeping too much or not sleeping at all
- waking up early
- Difficulty in concentrating, remembering, or making decisions
- Thoughts of self-harm, death or suicide
Mood Swings
A person with bipolar disorder may experience rapid mood swings from mania to depression, or from hypomania to depression. These mood swings can be sudden and extreme.
Symptoms of bipolar disorder can be difficult to identify in children and teens. It’s often hard to tell whether these are normal ups and downs, the results of stress or trauma, or signs of a mental health problem other than bipolar disorder.
Children and teens may have distinct major depressive or manic or hypomanic episodes, but the pattern can vary from that of adults with bipolar disorder. And moods can rapidly shift during episodes. Some children may have periods without mood symptoms between episodes.
The most prominent signs of bipolar disorder in children and teenagers may include severe mood swings that are different from their usual mood swings