Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorders (formerly known as manic depressive illnesses) are a set of mood disorders in which patients experience phases or cycles of mood symptoms that create clinically significant impairment in daily functioning. Bipolar disorders are distinguished from unipolar depression by the inclusion of cycles that consist of unusually high, overly joyful, expansive, or irritable moods, denoted as manic episodes.

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, bipolar disorders were classified as bipolar I disorder, bipolar II disorder, cyclothymic disorder, substance/medication-induced bipolar disorder, and bipolar disorder due to another medical condition. The shared link of all of these disorders is the presence of episodes that include abnormally severe elevated and depressed moods. The primary difference between these specific disorders is the duration ...