Bipolar disorder is a medical condition characterized by extremes in terms of mood.  People who have bipolar disorder are considered to have some kind of psychiatric illness.  One moment, a person with bipolar disorder will seem happy and positive and in another moment he/she will turn be angry or depressed.  For many people, bipolar disorder is commonly characterized by extreme mood swings.  This is also the reason why many people refer to bipolar disorder as a type of mood disorder.

Mania and depression are the two opposite but classic characteristics or behavior of people with bipolar disorder.  On one side of the scale, mania may be demonstrated in different levels.  Some will have milder forms of mania called “hypomania” and will simply be very positive in terms of attitude.  People with this disorder may be very excited about everything around them and may even be very productive in what they do.  Others meanwhile may experience the extremes of mania making them very impulsive in terms of their decisions.  Some people will also have too much energy and positivity that they find it difficult to sleep.  The other end of the scale is the depression tendencies of people with bipolar disorder.  One month patients with this disorder may be happy with their life and the next month they’ll be totally angry or depressed.  Many become very anxious and feel socially isolated which could lead to other physical and medical concerns.

Bipolar disorders are said to be caused by a variety of factors including genetics, psychological development, and environmental influence.  Some medical experts also believe that abnormalities in the body’s hormones may also lead to bipolar disorder.  Prevalence is said to be the same for both men and women and at least 4% of the world’s population have been diagnosed to have this kind of psychiatric disorder.  Management of the disorder is typically through various medications that are prescribed for patients depending on the symptom presented.