Definition
- Credo Reference-Bipolar DisorderBipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive disorder, is a type of mood disorder, which occurs in approximately 1% of the population. This rate of occurrence is consistent across groups of diverse ethnicity and culture. In general, bipolar disorder is a long-term illness with an episodic and variable course. Unlike major depressive disorder that is significantly more common in women, the occurrence of bipolar disorder is equally common in men and women. Bipolar disorder is characterized by the presence of mania, or a manic episode, defined as a period of abnormal, persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood. An individual need only have one manic episode to fit lifetime diagnostic criteria for bipolar disorder.
Online Resources
- NIMH-Bipolar DisordersBipolar disorder (formerly called manic-depressive illness or manic depression) is a mental disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, concentration, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks.
- Mental Health.gov-Bipolar DisorderBipolar disorder is a serious mental illness. People who have it go through unusual mood changes. They go from very happy, "up," and active to very sad and hopeless, "down," and inactive, and then back again. They often have normal moods in between. The up feeling is called mania. The down feeling is depression.
- MedlinePlus-Bipolar DisorderInformation on Bipolar Disorder from MedlinePlus.
Streaming Media
- Bipolar DisorderBipolar Disorder, formerly known as manic depression, is an illness that affects brain function. It causes extreme moods. People with Bipolar Disorder can become high, over-excited and reckless, or imagine that they are more important than they are. They can also become very low, feeling helpless and depressed, with difficulty making decisions or concentrating.
- Bipolarized: Rethinking Mental IllnessMillions of Americans every year are diagnosed with a serious mental illness and prescribed drugs as the standard treatment. But are these diagnoses always correct? And are drugs the only or best way to treat their symptoms?
- Finding Balance in BipolarEllen Forney is a passionate storyteller and artist who turned her bipolar diagnosis into a platform of hope for anyone struggling with mental health issues. In this moving and generous talk, Ellen uses both words and pictures — her own comics —to share the story of how she maintained her creativity while managing her illness and shares the system she developed for achieving balance and keeping it.
- Tell Me About Bipolar DisorderLearn the basics about bipolar disorder and where to find support. To find out more information visit nami.org/bipolar.
Books
Living with Bipolar Disorder
Living with Bipolar Disorder is designed to help patients and their families develop the skills they need to be good consumers of treatment and to become expert partners in the management of this challenging disorder. Drawing on research documenting the strength of combining drug treatments with behavioral interventions for fighting bipolar disorder, the authors of this book take a skill-based, family-and-friends approach to managing the ups and downs commonly experienced with bipolar disorder. Readers will learn how to better recognize mood shifts before they happen, minimize their impact, and move on with their lives. Family members will learn how to recognize potential problems, provide encouragement, practice new coping skills, and understand what a loved one is going through. Living with Bipolar Disorder provides worksheets and forms to help readers reinforce skills and practices learned in therapy, as well as useful information about the details of living with bipolar disorder, advice on the best ways to avoid relapses, and strategies for anticipating problems.
