Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder. It was formerly known as manic depression. It has been defined as a mental health condition where a person goes through extreme mood changes or “mood swings”. They can experience emotional highs and lows. The highs are called mania or hypomania, and the lows are usually depressive episodes.

When a person becomes depressed, they feel sad, empty, hopeless, and lose all interest in most things. During mania or hypomania(which is a less extreme version of mania), the person feels euphoric, filled with energy, or annoyed. Because of these mood changes, the person’s sleep, judgment, energy levels, behaviors, ability to think, and different activities can be affected.

Almost 2.8% of the American population has bipolar disorder, and most symptoms start showing up before a person turns 25. Let’s take a look at what these signs and symptoms are.

Mania or Hypomania Symptoms

During mania and hypomania, a person’s mood is elevated, and they feel more energy, euphoria, and creativity. If you go through a manic episode, you could feel invincible and all-powerful and very hyperactive. When it spins out of control, you could become reckless and irritable.

Symptoms can include:

●      Talking and moving very fast

●      Feeling wired

●      Impaired judgment

●      Feeling like you could do anything

●      Engaging in reckless or risky behavior

●      Getting easily distracted

●      Sleeping less

●      Being social, sometimes aggressively

●      Denial about anything being wrong

●      Jumping from one topic to another

Bipolar Depression Symptoms

With more and more research, bipolar depression has been defined as separate from regular depression. The treatments for both are different, too, and antidepressants usually don’t work in bipolar depression. They could even make it worse.

However, certain bipolar depression symptoms are the same as regular depression. Following are the common symptoms of bipolar depression.

●      Feelings of sadness and hopelessness

●      Sleeping too much or too less

●      Losing interest in things that once brought you joy

●      Extreme changes in appetite

●      Talking too slow

●      Memory problems

●      Having trouble concentrating

●      Constantly thinking or talking about death or feeling suicidal

●      Inability to carry out simple tasks

●      Feelings of low self-worth

●      Mental and physical fatigue

Symptoms of a Mixed Episode

Sometimes, a mixed episode of bipolar disorder can occur, which includes symptoms of depression and hypomania or mania. The common signs or symptoms of a mixed episode can be insomnia, racing thoughts, depression, feeling agitated and irritated, feeling distracted, and inability to concentrate. Mixed episodes increase the risk of suicide because of extreme highs and lows of a person’s mood.

If you or a loved one are suffering from bipolar disorder, we recommend you consult a professional. At Ketamine Wellness Practice, we offer a variety of treatments including but not limited to Bipolar disorder Ketamine treatment, Depression Ketamine treatment, Ketamine treatment for anxiety, PTSD Ketamine treatment, and OCD Ketamine treatment. You can contact us today to learn more.