Bipolar disorder is a complex and delicate mood disorder to manage that leads sufferers to experience periods of depressed mood, characterized by symptoms similar to those of major depression, alternating with “manic” or “hypomanic” phases, characterized by elation and great expansiveness.
Depressive and manic episodes are, as a rule, interspersed with periods of relative well-being, in which symptoms are very mild or completely absent, even in the absence of therapy.
Bipolar disorder is a chronic, lifelong illness.
The frequency, duration, and amplitude of mood oscillations are highly variable from patient to patient and at different times in the life of the same patient.
By definition, depressive phases tend to be more frequent and prolonged than manic/euphoric phases in patients with type II bipolar disorder, whereas in type I bipolar disorder, manic episodes are more frequent and relevant, and psychotic symptoms are also often present.
An attenuated form of bipolar disorder is “cyclothymic disorder.”
