Behavioral Wellness Center

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depressive disorder or manic depression, is a serious mental illness. It's a disorder that can lead to risky behavior, damaged relationships and careers, and even suicidal tendencies if it's not treated. Bipolar disorder is characterized by extreme changes in mood, from mania to depression. Between these mood episodes, a person with bipolar disorder may experience normal moods.

SYMPTOMS OF BIPOLAR DISORDER

The primary symptoms of bipolar disorder are periods of elevated or irritable mood accompanied by dramatic increases in energy, activity, and fast thinking. The illness has two (bi) strongly contrasting phases (polar): 1) bipolar mania or hypo-mania and 2) depression. Bipolar mania or hypo-mania symptoms include:

• Euphoria or irritability
• Increased energy and activity
• Excessive talk; racing thoughts
• Inflated self-esteem
• Unusual energy; less need for sleep
• Impulsiveness, a reckless pursuit of gratification (shopping sprees, impetuous travel, more and sometimes promiscuous sex, high-risk business investments, fast driving)

Bipolar depression/major depression symptoms include:

• Depressed mood and low self-esteem
• Low energy levels and apathy
• Sadness, loneliness, helplessness, guilt
• Slow speech, fatigue, and poor coordination
• Insomnia or oversleeping
• Suicidal thoughts and feelings
• Poor concentration
• Lack of interest or pleasure in usual activities

SOURCE: Webmd - Bipolar Disorder Health Center

Most people have felt sad or depressed at times. Feeling depressed can be a normal reaction to loss, life's struggles, or an injured self-esteem. But when feelings of intense sadness -- including feeling helpless, hopeless, and worthless -- last for many days to weeks and keep you from functioning normally, your depression may be something more than sadness. It may very well be clinical depression -- a treatable medical condition.

HOW DO I KNOW IF I HAVE DEPRESSION?

According to the DSM-5, a manual used to diagnose mental disorders, depression occurs when you have at least five of the following symptoms at the same time:

• A depressed mood during most of the day, particularly in the morning
• Fatigue or loss of energy almost every day
• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt almost every day
• Impaired concentration, indecisiveness
• Insomnia (an inability to sleep) or hypersomnia (excessive sleeping) almost every day
• Markedly diminished interest or pleasure in almost all activities nearly every day
• Recurring thoughts of death or suicide (not just fearing death)
• A sense of restlessness or being slowed down
• Significant weight loss or weight gain

SOURCE: Webmd - Depression Health Center

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects children and teens and can continue into adulthood. ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed mental disorder of children. Children with ADHD may be hyperactive and unable control their impulses. Or they may have trouble paying attention. These behaviors interfere with school and home life. It’s more common in boys than in girls. It’s usually discovered during the early school years, when a child begins to have problems paying attention. Adults with ADHD may have trouble managing time, being organized, setting goals, and holding down a job. They may also have problems with relationships, self-esteem, and addiction.

SYMPTOMS IN CHILDREN

Inattention. A child with ADHD:

• Is easily distracted
• Doesn't follow directions or finish tasks
• Doesn't appear to be listening
• Doesn't pay attention and makes careless mistakes
• Forgets about daily activities
• Has problems organizing daily tasks
• Doesn’t like to do things that require sitting still
• Often loses things
• Tends to daydream

Hyperactivity. A child with ADHD:

• Often squirms, fidgets, or bounces when sitting
• Doesn't stay seated
• Has trouble playing quietly
• Is always moving, such as running or climbing on things (In teens and adults, this is more commonly described as restlessness.)
• Talks excessively
• Is always “on the go” as if “driven by a motor”

Impulsivity. A child with ADHD:

• Has trouble waiting for his or her turn
• Blurts out answers
• Interrupts others

SYMPTOMS IN ADULTS

Symptoms of ADHD may change as a person gets older. They include:

• Chronic lateness and forgetfulness
• Anxiety
• Low self-esteem
• Problems at work
• Trouble controlling anger
• Impulsiveness
• Substance abuse or addiction
• Unorganized
• Procrastination
• Easily frustrated
• Chronic boredom
• Trouble concentrating when reading
• Mood swings
• Depression
• Relationship problems

SOURCE: Webmd - ADD & ADHD Health Center

Schizophrenia is a serious brain disorder that distorts the way a person thinks, acts, expresses emotions, perceives reality, and relates to others. People with schizophrenia -- the most chronic and disabling of the major mental illnesses -- often have problems functioning in society, at work, at school, and in relationships. Schizophrenia can leave its sufferer frightened and withdrawn. It is a life-long disease that cannot be cured but can be controlled with proper treatment.

SCHIZOPHRENIA TYPES AND SYMPTOMS

Usually with schizophrenia, the person's inner world and behavior change notably. Behavior changes might include the following:

• Social withdrawal
• Depersonalization (a sense of being unreal, hazy and in a dreamlike state), sometimes accompanied by intense anxiety
• Loss of appetite
• Loss of hygiene
• Delusions
• Hallucinations (hearing or seeing things that aren't there)
• The sense of being controlled by outside forces
• Disorganized speech

In order to better understand schizophrenia, the concept of clusters of symptoms is often used. Thus, people with schizophrenia can experience symptoms that may be grouped under the following categories:

• Positive symptoms: Hearing voices, suspiciousness, feeling as though they are under constant surveillance, delusions, or making up words without a meaning (neologisms).
• Negative (or deficit) symptoms: Social withdrawal, difficulty in expressing emotions (in extreme cases called a flat affect), difficulty in taking care of themselves, inability to feel pleasure. These symptoms cause severe impairment and are often mistaken for laziness.
• Cognitive symptoms: Difficulties attending to and processing of information, understanding the environment, and remembering simple tasks.
• Affective (or mood) symptoms: Most notably depression, accounting for a very high rate of attempted suicide in people suffering from schizophrenia. Anxiety can also be present and may be a direct result of the psychosis or come and go during a psychotic episode.
• Delusions
• Hallucinations (hearing or seeing things that aren't there)
• The sense of being controlled by outside forces
• Disorganized speech

SOURCE: Webmd - Schizophrenia Health Center