People who suffer from Bipolar Disorder, also referred to as Manic Depression or Severe Mood Swings, experience numerous characteristics with several symptoms often occurring simultaneously. The typical emotional cycle for a person with bipolar is to severely alternate, sometimes on a daily basis, from unexplained depressed feelings, thoughts, and actions to the extreme opposite of elevated personal feeling of euphoria. The extreme unpredictable bipolar characteristics often cause dysfunction with family members, all personal relationships, at school, and within the legal system. A person diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder typically demonstrates one or more of the bipolar characteristic listed below.
Depression
Depression is the main bipolar characteristic experienced most often by the most people. Depression has multiple symptoms that can occur all at once or at different times. The main fact that ties depression to bipolar is because a definable outside source does not trigger the symptoms. Depression will seem to exist for no apparent reason. The main characteristics of depression are severe sadness and uncontrollable crying spells, often without a cause such as an immediate negative physical or mental situation. A person may wake up feeling complete sadness and loss of hope for the future and start crying with no explanation as to the negative feelings causing the depression or the crying outburst. The second main characteristics of depression are loss of joy or interest in previously enjoyed activities. A person may verbally express and act as if they receive no excitement or personal stimulation from anything around them or suddenly, with no reason, stop activities they once performed regularly such as exercising, creative activities, or spending time with family and friends. The final characteristic of depression is sudden extreme weight gain or loss. A person may suddenly begin to eat constantly eating types of unhealthy foods not typically eaten. A person could also demonstrate the opposite and suddenly stop eating completely causing drastic unsafe weight loss.
Irritability
The Bipolar characteristic of irritability is demonstrated when a person is uneasy or disturbed even though they are not in a stressful situation and relief does not exist. Irritability often leads to arguments with other people and a feeling of dissatisfaction with the immediate situation. A person may express their irritability by becoming destructive to themselves or towards surrounding people and property. The cause for the feeling of irritability is unidentifiable or non-existent making it difficult to find a way to feel content again.
Difficulty focusing attention
Difficulty focusing attention is a bipolar characteristic often referred to as a racing brain. The person’s mind is flooded with numerous thoughts about multiple subjects at the same time. The person is unable to prioritize anything, and unable to distinguish the difference between important and non-important events. Every thought seems to hold equal immediate necessity for completion. Difficulty focusing attention because of racing thoughts leaves a person mentally distracted to the point they often get nothing done and seem to fidget as they bounce randomly through thoughts, projects, assignments and conversations.
Altered sleep pattern
An altered sleep pattern is a bipolar characteristic that includes an excessive increase or decrease in sleep with no cause for the drastic change. A person may stop sleeping for several days straight and do nothing but stare at a television or a blank wall. The person could also begin to do the exact opposite and sleep double or triple their normal sleep pattern with no previous actions that caused the exhaustion.
Grandiose or lofty plans
Grandiose or lofty plans are a bipolar characteristic that is often described as delusional in which a person’s attitudes and actions are not inline with reality. A person may develop personal goals that are over exaggerated to the point they become non-achievable.
Copyright © 2016, John Mallozzi
