When we talk about bipolar most of us are not familiar with the different stages of the illness. Bipolar is divided according to the symptoms and the severity of the disorder. According to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, accompanied by at least one hypomania or elevated mood, Bipolar 2 or type 2 disorders comprise of one or more highly persistent depressions. The key differences between type 2 from one is that the former reaches only the level of hypomania but not the mania episodes. If you happen to have severe manic episodes you are probably in category one level.
Not Easy
Many doctors get confused when diagnosing the disease, because its boundaries are immense. Practitioners can often be mixed up with the different symptoms they encounter. At times just dealing with one patient, symptoms can go from mania to mixed feelings with a lot of people going from type 1 to 2 without fitting into any one. When doctor misdiagnose a patient they end up either under or over medicated which can make them dopey or down.
Symptoms of Hypomania
Hypomania is a part of bipolar disorder which can shift to either a depression cycle or a full manic state. Patients with the disease tend to call attention to themselves with behavior that hovers on the edge of being unacceptable but do not get themselves into the kind of serious trouble that a bipolar mania do. Those with the symptom can be very good people to be with, humorous and entertaining but they can quickly turn to be annoying and cold. One of the trademarks of staying too long with a hyppomanic is a sense of burn out and stress.
Start Rating Yourself
One of the best things you can do is to try and rate yourself every chance you get. Have a mood chart say from 1 to 10, one being lowest of low (depression) and 10 is the high of the highest (mania). Usually 5 is the number when you're feeling normal and not experiencing either moods. Try and rate yourself at least once a day when your mind is clear and also important to take note of what medication you took and at what time of the day because it can be hard to remember at the end of the day or the next day. Rate your mood swings 2 to 3 times a day because this gives you or the doctor an idea of how your swings are going. A final note when rating yourself is to always look for past behaviors compared to the present ones. And try to keep your mood chart for a while say 4 to 5 days. This is an important exercise which can help your doctor determine the right treatment for you.
More Information
Read up from pamphlets available at your local mental health centers if you want to know more about what symptoms you are going through. The internet also has a lot of information on bipolar, its treatments and online support.
Not Easy
Many doctors get confused when diagnosing the disease, because its boundaries are immense. Practitioners can often be mixed up with the different symptoms they encounter. At times just dealing with one patient, symptoms can go from mania to mixed feelings with a lot of people going from type 1 to 2 without fitting into any one. When doctor misdiagnose a patient they end up either under or over medicated which can make them dopey or down.
Symptoms of Hypomania
Hypomania is a part of bipolar disorder which can shift to either a depression cycle or a full manic state. Patients with the disease tend to call attention to themselves with behavior that hovers on the edge of being unacceptable but do not get themselves into the kind of serious trouble that a bipolar mania do. Those with the symptom can be very good people to be with, humorous and entertaining but they can quickly turn to be annoying and cold. One of the trademarks of staying too long with a hyppomanic is a sense of burn out and stress.
Start Rating Yourself
One of the best things you can do is to try and rate yourself every chance you get. Have a mood chart say from 1 to 10, one being lowest of low (depression) and 10 is the high of the highest (mania). Usually 5 is the number when you're feeling normal and not experiencing either moods. Try and rate yourself at least once a day when your mind is clear and also important to take note of what medication you took and at what time of the day because it can be hard to remember at the end of the day or the next day. Rate your mood swings 2 to 3 times a day because this gives you or the doctor an idea of how your swings are going. A final note when rating yourself is to always look for past behaviors compared to the present ones. And try to keep your mood chart for a while say 4 to 5 days. This is an important exercise which can help your doctor determine the right treatment for you.
More Information
Read up from pamphlets available at your local mental health centers if you want to know more about what symptoms you are going through. The internet also has a lot of information on bipolar, its treatments and online support.
About the Author:
Ken P Doyle is an advocate for bipolar disorder and has a wealth of knowledge on brain illness. As an advocate he is willing to share some excellent information and data on bipolar bipolar 2 and bipolar symptoms.
