Depression

Bi polar symptoms are the manifestations of the bi polar disorder which is defined by the history of one or more manic or hypomanic (mildly manic) episodes, regardless of whether the patient was ever depressed, in the absence of organic brain disease or the use of psychostimulant drugs. A manic episode is described as an event where the person experiencing bi polar symptoms has rapid or pressured speech; an irritable, expansive or euphoric mood and stimulus bound hyperactivity.

Many patients with bi polar symptoms also experience endogenous depressions which will be explained later on.
When patients experience endogenous depressions alone, this is sometimes referred to as unipolar depressive illness, though it is rarely called that. Interestingly, there is an increased frequency of people ending up with bi polar symptoms among successful creative writers and their first degree relatives, or those relatives who share 50% of their genes.

As mentioned above, an endogenous depression or sometimes called a major depressive episode with signs of melancholia is characterized by:

1. A sustained sad, anxious, dysphoric or restless mood. People with bi polar symptoms often feel that they should be doing something, but no option seems good enough for them to do. No activity entices them to move.

2. Appetite loss with weight loss or five pounds or more in the preceding three weeks. Most patients with bi polar symptoms lose weight because of increased agitation or adrenaline release, which decreases hunger.

3. Early morning waking. Patients with bi polar symptoms wake up early or sleep very little. They may develop a serious case of insomnia which can aggravate the disorder.

4. Suicidal ideas or behaviour. Sufferers of bi polar symptoms feel that the world “seems to be better” without them. Although not all suicide attempters are bi polar oriented, a great number of patients with bi polar symptoms have attempted to commit suicide at least once before seeking help.

5. Agitation or the increased frequency of purposeless motor movements such as pacing or finger tapping, in response to a mood or psychomotor retardation. Because of the adrenaline and the excess energy this brings, patients with bi polar symptoms are often seen restless and execute jerky movements.

6. Severe feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness or guilt. People with bi polar symptoms feel bad about them staying alive when seemingly “better” people die every day. Patients with bi polar symptoms feel that they cannot rebuild their life, or that there is no point of rebuilding it. Actually, this is the feeling that causes even “cured” patients who experienced bi polar symptoms in the past to relapse.

7. Diurnal (daytime) mood variation where the mood is routinely worse in the morning upon waking up and gets slightly better as the day progresses. Again, this is due to the guilt factor that patients with bi polar symptoms feel. As they wake up everyday, most report that they feel bad about still living one more day.

8. No coarse brain disease or damage. A manic-depressive episode can only be defined as such when it is not caused by any form of damage. If the brain is physically damaged, then it falls in a different category. It will not be considered one of the bi polar symptoms.

9. No recent use of drugs for high blood pressure. Same as above, bi polar symptoms can only be considered as such if there are no outside factors that affect the behavior of the patient.

10. No recent use of steroids or steroidal drugs. Steroids can cause hyperactivity and a “high” feeling similar to that taken from drugs like barbiturates and is not the same as that of someone with bi polar symptoms.

Bi polar symptoms are wide ranged, and some milder versions of the mentioned symptoms do not exactly mean being bipolar. However, if you are experiencing these symptoms or know someone who does, early intervention may save their lives.