Bipolar Support Groups.com blog

There are other mental disorders besides bipolar disorder, which can produce mood swings. For example, mood swings can be caused by general medical conditions or other physical illnesses that affect the body’s regulatory systems. Suspect medical conditions include various brain chemical imbalances, hormone disorders (such as hyper- or hypothyroidism), bacterial or viral infections, and autoimmunity conditions (leading to body rhythm dysregulation). Such illnesses could cause people to experiencebipolar-like mood swings even though they don’t have actual bipolar disorder. See our section onContemporary Understandings of Bipolar Disorder for a more detailed discussion of medical conditions, which must be ruled out prior to bipolar diagnosis.

Equally confusing is the use of street drugs and/or alcohol, which can lead to altered mood states. Intoxication with central nervous system stimulant drugs (such as Cocaine, or Methamphetamine) can easily mimic a manic state. Similarly, intoxication with central nervous system depressant drugs (such as alcohol, or Valium) can mimic a depressive state. When it is not clear if a mood condition is due to a drug or to a disease process, doctors will tend to hold off making definitive bipolar diagnoses until enough time has passed so as to allow any drug effect that might be affecting mood to metabolize and clear out of the affected person’s system.

As previously mentioned, manic people tend to show poor judgment and to be pleasure-seeking in the extreme. For this reason, it is not at all uncommon for people in the midst of a manic disorder episode to take drugs and/or drink alcohol. Similarly, people experiencing a depressive episode tend to feel awful, and sometimes will “self-medicate” with street drugs and/or alcohol in an attempt to help themselves feel better. . Though some short-term relief may be gained by such self-medication attempts, substance abuse and addiction problems can result in the long-term, which compounds the existing mental disorder. Addicts, of course, are at the mercy of the availability of their drugs; they may develop manic depressive mood symptoms as a result of withdrawal symptoms, or efforts to ward off experiencing withdrawal symptoms. When either of these situations occur, you have a situation where a true bipolar condition and drug effects may exist simultaneously. Once again, this sort of situation can be ruled out by a diagnosing doctor by simply letting enough time pass for the effects of any drugs or alcohol to wear off.

There is perhaps a weak bi-directional causal relationship between substance abuse disorders and bipolar disorder. People who have bipolar affective disorder have an increased risk for developing substance abuse problems, and people who use substances may help to release whatever inborn potential or vulnerability they may have for developing bipolar disorder (see our section on the Diathesis-Stress Hypothesis for more detail). Whatever the true relationship is between bipolar conditions and substance abuse, it is not in question that the combination of the two conditions leaves people worse off than either alone.

Complicating bipolar diagnosis further is the possibility that an individual with mood swings is suffering from a mental illness other than bipolar disorder. A number of other mental disorders are associated with mood swings. Mental disorders which may be commonly confused with bipolar disorder include Borderline Personality Disorder , Schizoaffective Disorder, Unipolar Depression, and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder.

There are other mental disorders besides bipolar disorder, which can produce mood swings. For example, mood swings can be caused by general medical conditions or other physical illnesses that affect the body’s regulatory systems. Suspect medical conditions include various brain chemical imbalances, hormone disorders (such as hyper- or hypothyroidism), bacterial or viral infections, and autoimmunity conditions (leading to body rhythm dysregulation). Such illnesses could cause people to experiencebipolar-like mood swings even though they don’t have actual bipolar disorder. See our section onContemporary Understandings of Bipolar Disorder for a more detailed discussion of medical conditions, which must be ruled out prior to bipolar diagnosis.

Equally confusing is the use of street drugs and/or alcohol, which can lead to altered mood states. Intoxication with central nervous system stimulant drugs (such as Cocaine, or Methamphetamine) can easily mimic a manic state. Similarly, intoxication with central nervous system depressant drugs (such as alcohol, or Valium) can mimic a depressive state. When it is not clear if a mood condition is due to a drug or to a disease process, doctors will tend to hold off making definitive bipolar diagnoses until enough time has passed so as to allow any drug effect that might be affecting mood to metabolize and clear out of the affected person’s system.

As previously mentioned, manic people tend to show poor judgment and to be pleasure-seeking in the extreme. For this reason, it is not at all uncommon for people in the midst of a manic disorder episode to take drugs and/or drink alcohol. Similarly, people experiencing a depressive episode tend to feel awful, and sometimes will “self-medicate” with street drugs and/or alcohol in an attempt to help themselves feel better. . Though some short-term relief may be gained by such self-medication attempts, substance abuse and addiction problems can result in the long-term, which compounds the existing mental disorder. Addicts, of course, are at the mercy of the availability of their drugs; they may develop manic depressive mood symptoms as a result of withdrawal symptoms, or efforts to ward off experiencing withdrawal symptoms. When either of these situations occur, you have a situation where a true bipolar condition and drug effects may exist simultaneously. Once again, this sort of situation can be ruled out by a diagnosing doctor by simply letting enough time pass for the effects of any drugs or alcohol to wear off.

There is perhaps a weak bi-directional causal relationship between substance abuse disorders and bipolar disorder. People who have bipolar affective disorder have an increased risk for developing substance abuse problems, and people who use substances may help to release whatever inborn potential or vulnerability they may have for developing bipolar disorder (see our section on the Diathesis-Stress Hypothesis for more detail). Whatever the true relationship is between bipolar conditions and substance abuse, it is not in question that the combination of the two conditions leaves people worse off than either alone.

Complicating bipolar diagnosis further is the possibility that an individual with mood swings is suffering from a mental illness other than bipolar disorder. A number of other mental disorders are associated with mood swings. Mental disorders which may be commonly confused with bipolar disorder include Borderline Personality Disorder , Schizoaffective Disorder, Unipolar Depression, and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder.

Recognizing the diversity of types and intensities of mood episodes, the DSM-IV-TR (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the book that describes mental health diagnoses) has subdivided the diagnosis of bipolar disorder into four basic categories, each defined by a particular pattern of severity of spontaneous depressions, manias, hypomanias or mixed episodes. The term “Bipolar I Disorder” is applied to patients who demonstrate full-strength manic and depressive episodes. The term “Bipolar II Disorder” is applied to patients who demonstrate full-strength depression, but only hypomanic presentations rather than full-strength manias. The term “Cyclothymic Disorder” is used to describe patients who demonstrate repeated mood swings which are never quite severe enough to qualify as major depressive or manic episodes. Finally, the term “Bipolar Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified (NOS)” is used to describe all other patients with bipolar symptoms which cannot neatly be fitted into the above categories. We’ll have more to say about DSM bipolar diagnoses in our discussion below.

Periodicity of Swings

Besides the energy or intensity of mood episodes, the other important factor relating to bipolar mood swings has to do with their periodicity; how long each episode lasts, and how rapidly they fluctuate. Most of the time bipolar mood swings occur with relative slowness, over periods of weeks and months. Usually, less than four complete mood cycles occur within a given year, and each mood episode might last up to two months.

There is generally a period of relatively normal mood that occurs between mood episode extremes. However, some individuals bipolar disorder do not experience this normal inter-episode period and instead experience this interval as a point in time when their mood symptoms are milder than normal (rather than being absent). For example, a person who is clearly between episodes might still feel low on some days or slightly manic on others.

Though less common than the longer cycling forms of bipolar disorder, a rapid-cycling variation of bipolar disorder is recognized. Rapid cycling bipolar disorder occurs when complete mood cycle periods occur four or more times per year. Rapid cycling bipolar conditions are thought to occur in 20% or less of all bipolar patients.

Two additional cycling terms are now beginning to enter the literature. Ultra-rapid cycling is in use to describe cases where complete mood cycles occur in less than one month. Ultridian cycling is in use to indicate cases where complete mood cycles occur inside the space of one day (and thus might be confused with a mixed episode). It is important to note that ultra-rapid and ultridian forms of mood cycling are not yet formally recognized in the DSM and thus are not currently official terms.

Rapid cycling in any form of bipolar disorder tends to be associated with a poorer long-term prognosis, which is to say, rapid-cyclers don’t tend to hold their lives together as well as do bipolar patients who have longer cycles.

New menu pages added take a sneak peek