What is Bipolar Disorder?
Bipolar Disorder, formerly called manic depression, is a mental illness that brings severe high and low moods and changes in sleep, energy, thinking, and behavior.
People who have bipolar disorder can have periods in which they feel overly happy and energized and other periods of feeling hopeless and sluggish.
Medically Reviewed by Smitha Bhandari, MD on August 20, 2024 Written by Annie Stuart
How Bipolar Disorder Affects Sleep: Get Better Sleep With Bipolar Disorder
Changes in sleep that last for more than two weeks or interfere with your life can point to an underlying condition. Of course, many things may contribute to sleep problems. Here's what you need to know about the many connections between bipolar disorder and sleep and what you can do to improve your sleep.
How Bipolar Disorder Affects Sleep
Bipolar disorder may affect sleep in many ways. For example, it can lead to:
Insomnia, the inability to fall asleep or remain asleep long enough to feel rested (resulting in feeling tired the next day).
Hypersomnia, or over-sleeping, which is sometimes even more common than insomnia during periods of depression in bipolar disorder.
Decreased need for sleep, in which (unlike insomnia) someone can get by with little or no sleep and not feel tired as a result the next day.
Delayed sleep phase syndrome, a circadian-rhythm sleep disorder resulting in insomnia and daytime sleepiness.
REM (rapid eye movement) sleep abnormalities, which may make dreams very vivid or bizarre.
Irregular sleep-wake schedules, which sometimes result from a lifestyle that involves excessive activity at night.
Co-occurring drug addictions, which may disrupt sleep and intensify pre-existing symptoms of bipolar disorder.
Co-occurring Sleep Apnea, which may affect up to a third of people with bipolar disorder, which can cause excessive daytime sleepiness
Tips For Managing Bipolar Disorder
If you have bipolar disorder, you don’t need anyone to tell you how challenging it can be. You are among millions of American adults who may also find that the mood episodes of bipolar disorder can be disruptive at work. Take heart. There are many steps you can take to find meaningful work and develop successful.
Bipolar Disorder and Work Challenges
Work can bring special challenges for those with bipolar disorder. Stress and unpredictable challenges in the workplace can take a big toll. Managing bipolar at work -- with the highs of mania and the lows of depression -- is no small feat.
Bipolar Disorder Warning Signs
What to Know About Bipolar Symptoms;
People with bipolar disorder often have mood swings that can be both high and low. When you show these classic mood patterns, diagnosing bipolar disorder is relatively straightforward.
But bipolar disorder can be sneaky. Symptoms may not always follow the typical high-low cycle. You could have occasional episodes of mild mania or hypomania that fly under the radar. Depression can overshadow other parts of the illness. Sometimes, symptoms of depression and mania can happen at the same time and substance misuse can complicate your diagnosis even more.
Hypomania Can Be A Symptom of Bipolar Disorder
What Is Hypomania?
Your mood will be elevated, and you'll feel energized much more than usual. The change will be noticeable to the people around you. Hypomania also may be a symptom of other mental health disorders.
Bipolar disorder can bring with it dramatic mood swings. You can go from the depths of depression to episodes of racing thoughts, extreme energy, and wired feelings that doctors call “mania.” Hypomania is a less severe form of mania. It might feel pretty good because your mood is up and you have more energy than usual, but it’s not out of control.
Experts use guidelines to tell a hypomanic episode from a manic one. A period of hypomania:
Lasts at least 4 days in a row. (Mania lasts at least 1 week.)
Doesn't have a significant impact on your job, schoolwork, or relationships.
Doesn't have to be treated in a hospital.
Bipolar Disorder Myths and Facts
Some people hear the term "bipolar disorder" and think it means sudden mood swings. They're partly right.
It's true that people with bipolar disorder go through periods of high energy, and also periods of fatigue and depression. But these aren't ordinary, simple mood swings. The highs and lows of bipolar disorder tend to last days or weeks at a time.
If you have bipolar disorder, it's important to be clear-eyed about what the disease is and how it affects you. Learn how to separate fact from fiction for an illness that's often shrouded in myth.
Myth: The Highs and Lows Happen In Regular Cycles
Bipolar disorder, which used to be called manic depression, is a lot messier and unpredictable than that.
Some people have symptoms of both mania and depression at the same time. For example, they may feel sad and hopeless -- but also energized.
Bipolar I Disorder: Symptoms and Treatments
What Are Bipolar Mania and Hypomania?
Also, these symptoms don't happen in any kind of regular pattern. For some people, symptoms only show up once or twice a year.
What are the Risks of Rapid Cycling Bipolar Disorder?
The most serious risk of a rapid cycling course in bipolar disorder is suicide. People with bipolar disorder are 10 times to 20 times more likely to commit suicide than people without bipolar disorder. Tragically, 8% to 20% of people with bipolar disorder eventually lose their lives to suicide.
People with a rapid cycling course may be at even higher risk for suicide than those with non-rapid cycling bipolar disorder. They are hospitalized more often, and their symptoms are usually more difficult to control long-term.
People with bipolar disorder are also at higher risk for substance abuse. Nearly 60% of people with bipolar disorder abuse drugs or alcohol. Substance abuse is associated with more severe or poorly controlled bipolar disorder.
Myth: There is Only One Type of Bipolar Disorder
There are actually a few different types of the disease. These include:
Bipolar I Disorder: You have manic episodes that last at least 7 days or that send you to the hospital for care. You may also go through periods of depression that last 2 weeks or more. You may have episodes that involve only mania or have mania and depression at the same time.
Myth: You Can Get A Test To Diagnose It
There is no single test that shows for sure that you have bipolar disorder. To figure out if you have it, your Doctor may ask about your symptoms and medical history and do a physical exam. They may do a few lab tests to rule out other conditions that can cause similar symptoms.
Before making a diagnosis, your Doctor may check to see if your symptoms fit the same pattern as those listed in a special manual used by Psychiatrists called DSM-5 -- the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
Myth: There’s No Way To Treat Bipolar Disorder
There is no cure for bipolar disorder, but people can manage their symptoms and improve their quality of life.
Nevertheless, you have more than one way to manage this illness. Medications can work very well. Your Doctor may suggest medications such as:
Mood Stabilizers
Antidepressants
Anti-mania drugs
Therapy: Keep up with Therapy appointments and talk with your Therapist about treatment options
Lifestyle Changes: Create a healthy routine, eat a healthy diet, and exercise regularly.
Stress Management: Learn techniques to manage stress and avoid things that trigger mood swings and can also build positive relationships with friends and family who can help you watch for warning signs.
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