Are You Struggling With Bipolar Disorder?

One minute you're happy, almost manic, and the other, you want to shut everyone and everything out. Your mood doesn't just go up and down, it almost oscillates. If you identify with this, you may be struggling with BPD, or bi-polar disorder. Bi-polar disorder is also known as manic-depressive illness. This is because the moods vary from episodes of extremely "elated ups', and energized behavior (also called manic episodes) to very sad, "low," or dismay periods (also called depressive episodes). Such periods may last for days, weeks, or months even.

While you do need a formal medical diagnosis for this disorder, here are a few common symptoms. If you identify that you are dealing with a few or all of these symptoms, it is important to seek professional help and get yourself checked out as soon as possible:

Bipolar "mood episodes" include unusual mood changes along with unusual sleep habits, activity levels, thoughts, or behavior.

You may have manic episodes, depressive episodes, or "mixed" episodes. A mixed episode has both manic and depressive symptoms.

If you are experiencing a manic episode, you may:

• Feel very elated and wired
• Difficulty sleeping
• More active than usual
• Talk really fast about many things
• You may feel agitated and irritable
• Feel like your thoughts are moving fast
• Believe you can do a lot of things at once
• Take on risks like end up spending lots of money or indulge in reckless sex

If you are experiencing a depressive episode, you may:

• Feel very sad and low
• Sleep too much or too little
• Feel like you can't enjoy anything
• have a feeling of emptiness
• Not be able to concentrate
• Forget things a lot
• Eat too much or too little
• Feel tired or something is slowing you down
• Think about things like death or suicide