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Bipolar Spectrum Disorder

The bipolar spectrum disorder encompasses not only manic depression as historically defined (that is, clear episodes of mania or hypomania additionally as depressive syndromes). However, it also covers other types of mental conditions for you to involve depression or mood swings without manic or hypomanic episodes, including a few impulses that manipulate problems, anxiety issues, character problems, and kinds of drug abuse.

Some psychiatrists argue that symptoms of bipolar spectrum disorder alone regularly aren’t diagnostic, and should mirror other situations which have their causes and treatments. Critics additionally imply that treatments used for bipolar I or II disorder may not necessarily be safe or powerful for conditions that most effectively, loosely, resemble manic disorder.

The Bipolar Spectrum: Bipolar I - IV?

Four numbers that historically outline bipolar disorder:

  • In bipolar I disorder, an individual has at least one manic episode lasting less than one week. Time spent with depressive symptoms may additionally outnumber time spent with mania symptoms through approximately three to at least one.

  • In bipolar II disorder, an individual experiences a milder form of mania, known as hypomania, lasting for many days or longer. Though, periods of depression outnumber the time spent with signs and symptoms of hypomania. Because hypomania can hinder regular everyday functioning or activities and maybe even happiness. Bipolar II disorder can also often be misdiagnosed as unipolar depression.

  • In manic depression, people have symptoms of mania or hypomania, which can be too few in a wide variety or too brief in the period to satisfy currently standard definitions of a manic or hypomanic syndrome or episode.

  • In cyclothymia (also referred to as bipolar III), a person has hypomania (as in bipolar II disorder) that regularly exchanges with quick durations of depression.