Bipolar disorder is a spectrum of mental illness. Some people require intensive outpatient treatment programs in a bipolar disorder treatment center, and others will do fine doing intermittent therapy and working to regulate moods using medicines or other techniques. Attending a bipolar disorder treatment center in South Jersey for bipolar disorder will help you to create stronger relationships and live a more satisfying life.
What is Bipolar Disorder?
Bipolar disorder has been called this because of the cyclical nature of the illness. In this disorder, patients vacillate between high and low episodes that are characterized by periods of mania and periods of depression. The swings are severe enough to affect how a person lives from one side of the range to the other.
During elevated periods, bipolar people will have lots of energy, they may not sleep at all, and develop plans that seem irrational to others and carry them out. During low periods bipolar people can become depressed to the point that they may not be able to get out of bed or complete regular daily tasks.
Cycle lengths can vary from person to person but most commonly cycles last for about seven days in patients that have a more severe form of the disorder. There are four types of bipolar disorder; they are:
- Bipolar I: This is the form of the disorder where people cycle for about seven days; their manic episodes often land them in an institutional care setting like a hospital or jail; depressive episodes can be just as bad on the other end of things
- Bipolar II: Bipolar II is similar to bipolar I; the ups and downs are less pronounced and debilitating
- Cyclothymic Disorder: This form of the disorder has longer lasting cycles of mania and depression; cycles can last for up to two years, and the symptoms are again not as pronounced as in the case of bipolar I
- Other Specified, Unspecific, and Related Bipolar Disorders: These are defined by mania and depression that is not mentioned in the bipolar disorder categories above
People with bipolar disorder will appear to go through emotionally intense periods and periods that are devoid of emotion. Each stage comes with its own set of symptoms.
