Manic

You meet a man in the fruit aisle and he captures your attention you go there with your glitter top, hugging yoga and your confidence smile. You smile and started a conversation which ended in a date that Saturday, you go home trying on different outfits to see what looks best and just full of energy – until it hits you like a rock – your happy go lucky attitude no longer showing, all you see is this frail being. Not right now you plead. You know what is happening but your date doesn’t. You go back to bed and stay there until you have to.

Saturday is here and your date picks you up and what he thought would be this vibrant confident colorful woman is in fact this woman that walked into a funeral. He is confused, and you have no energy what do you do?

What is describe there is the typical life of a person with Bipolar I disorder. Bipolar I disorder, according to the DSM-IV-TR, is condition in which the patient has significant mood changes that last from weeks to months at a time. Patients will experience at least one manic episode where the mood is an elevated one; followed by a period of normalcy or balance for at least two months before an onset of a major depressive episode. Manic being a state or episode of euphoria or frenzied activity in which people may have an exaggerated belief that the world is theirs for the taking, and a depressive episode being a low, sad state marked by significant levels of sadness, lack of energy, low self-worth, guilt or related symptoms.

Symptoms vary but here are some key components of Bipolar I (depressive episode)

• Emotional symptoms: most people who are depressed feel sad and dejected. They describe themselves as feeling “miserable,” “empty,” and “humiliated.” They tend to lose their sense of humor, report getting little pleasure from anything, and in some cases display anhedonia, an inability to experience any pleasure at all a number also experience anxiety, anger, or agitation.
• Cognitive symptoms of depression: depressed people hold extremely negative views of themselves. They consider themselves inadequate, undesirable, inferior, and perhaps evil. They also blame themselves for nearly every unfortunate event, event things that have nothing to do with them, and they rarely credit themselves for positive achievements.
• Pessimism
• People with depression frequently complain that their intellectual ability is poor. They feel confused, unable to remember things, easily distracted, and unable to solve even the smallest problem
• Motivational symptoms of depression:depressed people typically lose the desire to pursue their usual activities. Almost all report a lack of drive, initiative, and spontaneity. They may have to force themselves to go to work, talk with friends, eat meals, or have sex. This state has been described as a “paralysis of will”
• Behavioral symptoms of depression: depressed people are usually less active and less productive. They spend more time alone and may stay in bed for long period.