10 Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder

By James Roberts, Health Team

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For most of us, our mood stays on the same level throughout our lives. Of course, there can be swings according to events around us, but they tend to be limited without having a significant impact overall. Generally speaking, we will remain fairly stable where our moods are concerned.

For people with bipolar disorder however, such mood swings are frequent and extreme ¹. The shifts can occur for no particular reason and cause the person to experience swings between manic happiness and suicidal depression. The disorder can wreck the lives of sufferers as well as the lives of those around them. There are some tell-tale signs that a person has bipolar disorder and should seek medical attention. Let’s look at the main symptoms.

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Symptom #1: Depression

We all get down from time to time. Life can be difficult, making it hard for us to always be happy. However, clinical depression is quite different from just feeling down or sad in response to life circumstances. It can make a person feel down even when there is no reason to be down. It can also make them feel so down that life just doesn’t seem worth living.

Depression is a common symptom in people with bipolar disorder. However, it is not always easy to separate the diagnosis between someone who suffers from general depression versus someone who suffers from depression as a symptom of bipolar disorder. Unfortunately, the depression associated with the disorder cannot be treated with standard anti-depressants, which can make the situation worse.

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