outline of bipolar disorder outline of bipolar disorder the following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to bipolar disorder: bipolar disorder – mental disorder with periods of depression and periods of elevated mood. the elevated mood is significant and is known as mania or hypomania, depending on its severity, or whether symptoms of psychosis are present. during mania, an individual behaves or feels abnormally energetic, happy, or irritable. individuals often make poorly thought out decisions with little regard to the consequences. the need for sleep is usually reduced during manic phases. during periods of depression, there may be crying, a negative outlook on life, and poor eye contact with others. the risk of suicide among those with the illness is high at greater than 6 percent over 20 years, while self-harm occurs in 30–40 percent. other mental health issues such as anxiety disorders and substance use disorder are commonly associated. also known as manic depression. what type of thing is bipolar disorder? a graph showing variable moods in different bipolar disorder subtypes compared to neurotypicals and people with unipolar depression bipolar disorder can be described as all of the following: disorder – mental disorder – functional abnormality or disturbance characterized by a behavioral or mental pattern that may cause suffering or a poor ability to function in life. such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitting, or occur as a single episode. bipolar spectrum bipolar spectrum – bipolar i – bipolar disorder with at least one manic episode (with or without psychosis), possibly with hypomanic and/or depressive episodes as well bipolar ii – bipolar disorder with at least one depressive and at least one hypomanic episode, without any full mania cyclothymia – "mild" bipolar disorder, with symptoms of hypomania and depression not severe enough to be classified as bipolar i or ii dysthymia – akin to depression, with symptoms that are long-lasting but less severe major depressive disorder – a mood disorder involving low mood, low energy, poor self-esteem, lack of interest in enjoyable activities, and/or aches and pains schizoaffective disorder – mood swings combined with psychosis; has subtypes bipolar type and depressive type mania – a state of hyperactivity, heightened mood (euphoric or irritable), low sleep, pressured speech, grandiosity, and/or racing thoughts; may include psychotic features like delusions or hallucinations mixed affective state – a state with traits of both mania and depression (e.g. irritability, low mood, suicidality, and racing thoughts at the same time) hypomania – a state of high mood similar to that of mania but less severe major depressive episode – an episode with signs of major depressive disorder symptoms of bipolar disorder anxiety – a state of increased stress and worry emotional dysregulation – difficulty regulating one's mood, resulting in mood swings sleep disorder – disordered sleeping habits signs typical of mania delusion – fixed belief that cannot be changed despite reason or evidence, not explained by common cultural beliefs hallucination – perceiving something that is not actually present insomnia – difficulty falling and/or staying asleep pressured speech – rapid, erratic, and/or frenzied speech that can be difficult for others to understand and interrupt psychosis – inability to distinguish between reality and fantasy racing thoughts – rapid thinking, sometimes experienced as distracting or distressing signs typical of depression anhedonia – reduced ability to experience pleasure dysphoria – a state of profound unhappiness or discomfort hypersomnia – excessive sleeping and/or sleepiness self harm – causing intentional pain or injury to the body, often as self-punishment or emotional release suicidal ideation – considering committing suicide treatment of bipolar disorder areas of the brain affected by bipolar disorder. treatment of bipolar disorder – treatment of bipolar disorder – mood stabilizers – medication that reduces mood swings and allows the user to experience a more typical range of moods anticonvulsants – carbamazepine – gabapentin – lamotrigine (lamictal) – oxcarbazepine – topiramate – valproic acid – sodium valproate – valproate semisodium – lithium pharmacology – lithium carbonate – lithium citrate – lithium sulfate – antipsychotics – treatment of bipolar disorder – anxiety – alprazolam (solanax and xanax) – list of benzodiazepines – non-pharmaceutical treatment of bipolar disorder clinical psychology – electroconvulsive therapy – involuntary commitment – light therapy – psychotherapy – transcranial magnetic stimulation – history of bipolar disorder history of bipolar disorder – emil kraepelin – karl leonhard – john cade – mogens schou – frederick k. goodwin – kay redfield jamison – organisations international society for bipolar disorders – icarus project – bipolar uk