payal
04-10-2011, 05:41 PM
The four types of bipolar:
Bipolar I
To earn the Bipolar I label, you must experience at least one bout of mania or a mixed-mood episode sometime during your whole life. The manic episode must last at least one week, or it must be serious enough to require hospitalization. It also must negatively affect some aspect of your life -your marriage, your career, or your life savings- to some degree. Depression isn't required, although many people with Bipolar 1 have experienced a bout or two of major depression at some point in their lives.
Bipolar II
Bipolar II is characterized by one or more episodes of major depression with at least one episode of hypomania during a lifetime. The depressive episodes must last at least two weeks, and the hypomania must last at least four days. Hypomania is a milder form of mania, characterized by an increase of energy and heightened state of mind, which can often feel quite pleasant. This condition can make you feel powerful, omniscient, creative, passionate, and uninhibited, but it can also be dysphoric -making you irritable, disorganized, enraged, and terrified. (Hypomania doesn't typically result in serious relationship problems or extremely risky behavior, but your behavior can make people around you more than a little uncomfortable.)
Cyclothymic Disorder
Cyclothymic disorder is a less extreme form of bipolar, sometimes referred to as "bipolar lite," that nevertheless chronically interferes with your life. It involves multiple episodes of hypomania and depressive symptoms, which don't meet criteria for mania or major depression in intensity or duration. Your symptoms must last for at least two years without more than two months of stable, or euthymic, mood during that time. (Some people with Cyclothymic disorder go on to develop a full-blown manic, mixed, or depressive episode, leading to an additional diagnosis of Bipolar I or II.)
Bipolar NOS
Bipolar NOS (Not Otherwise Specified), which covers all other forms of bipolar disorder that don't fall into any of the first three categories. The Bipolar NOS label often applies to the following cases:
*Rapid fluctuations in mood that may be intense enough to qualify as manic, hypomanic, or depressive but that don't fulfill the duration requirements for Bipolar I, Bipolar II, or Cyclothymic disorder diagnosis
*Hyypomania without depression.
*Mania or Cyclothymic disorder occurring simultaneously with schizophrenia, Psychotic disorder NOS, or Delusional disorder (a disorder that typically results in psychoses, hallucinations, and delusional thinking.)
*Chronic depression and/or dysthymia (long term, low-level depression) accompanied by hypomanic episodes.
I got his from the new book I got called Bipolar for Dummies. Thought this was interesting, I've never heard of these other types of bipolar before. Hugs
Bipolar I
To earn the Bipolar I label, you must experience at least one bout of mania or a mixed-mood episode sometime during your whole life. The manic episode must last at least one week, or it must be serious enough to require hospitalization. It also must negatively affect some aspect of your life -your marriage, your career, or your life savings- to some degree. Depression isn't required, although many people with Bipolar 1 have experienced a bout or two of major depression at some point in their lives.
Bipolar II
Bipolar II is characterized by one or more episodes of major depression with at least one episode of hypomania during a lifetime. The depressive episodes must last at least two weeks, and the hypomania must last at least four days. Hypomania is a milder form of mania, characterized by an increase of energy and heightened state of mind, which can often feel quite pleasant. This condition can make you feel powerful, omniscient, creative, passionate, and uninhibited, but it can also be dysphoric -making you irritable, disorganized, enraged, and terrified. (Hypomania doesn't typically result in serious relationship problems or extremely risky behavior, but your behavior can make people around you more than a little uncomfortable.)
Cyclothymic Disorder
Cyclothymic disorder is a less extreme form of bipolar, sometimes referred to as "bipolar lite," that nevertheless chronically interferes with your life. It involves multiple episodes of hypomania and depressive symptoms, which don't meet criteria for mania or major depression in intensity or duration. Your symptoms must last for at least two years without more than two months of stable, or euthymic, mood during that time. (Some people with Cyclothymic disorder go on to develop a full-blown manic, mixed, or depressive episode, leading to an additional diagnosis of Bipolar I or II.)
Bipolar NOS
Bipolar NOS (Not Otherwise Specified), which covers all other forms of bipolar disorder that don't fall into any of the first three categories. The Bipolar NOS label often applies to the following cases:
*Rapid fluctuations in mood that may be intense enough to qualify as manic, hypomanic, or depressive but that don't fulfill the duration requirements for Bipolar I, Bipolar II, or Cyclothymic disorder diagnosis
*Hyypomania without depression.
*Mania or Cyclothymic disorder occurring simultaneously with schizophrenia, Psychotic disorder NOS, or Delusional disorder (a disorder that typically results in psychoses, hallucinations, and delusional thinking.)
*Chronic depression and/or dysthymia (long term, low-level depression) accompanied by hypomanic episodes.
I got his from the new book I got called Bipolar for Dummies. Thought this was interesting, I've never heard of these other types of bipolar before. Hugs