Bipolar 1 vs. Bipolar 2

Even though they share a name, they are completely different.

With bipolar 1, you are diagnosed when you experience a manic episode. When that happens, you will experience an extreme increase in energy and mood swings, including feeling extremely happy or uncomfortably irritable. 

With bipolar 2, someone will experience hypomanic episodes. They will still have out of character behavior, but it’s not as extreme as bipolar 1. Keep in mind that bipolar 2 is not a milder form of bipolar. It still has its challenges and still is considered its own diagnosis. People with 2 can be depressed for longer periods of time while people with 1 can be severe and dangerous to the point where they need medical attention.

What is a hypomania episode?

When someone is having a hypomania episode, they have a lot of energy or activity level, mood or behavior. It’s not as severe as mania, but it’s still part of bipolar. A hypomanic episode, or hympomania, is characterized by less severe manic symptoms that need to last only four days in a row rather than a week. Hypomanic symptoms do not lead to the major problems in daily functioning that manic symptoms commonly cause.

Some of the symptoms but are not limited for both mania and hypomania are:

·Being much more active energetic or agitated than usual. 

·Feeling a distorted sense of well-being or too self-confident.

·Needing less or more sleep than usual.

·Being unusually talkative and talking fast.

·Having racing thoughts or jumping quickly from one topic to another.

·Being easily distracted.

·Making poor decisions.

You can have unpredicted changes in mood and changes in behavior. It can lead to a lot of distress that will lead you to having a hard time in life. There are also depressive episodes that can last up to 2 weeks. Bipolar symptoms can also happen if your pregnant or when the seasons change.

A major depressive episode can cause you to not able to do everyday things, like work, sports, school, just the simplest things.

An episode includes five or more of these symptoms:

·Having a depressed mood. You may feel sad, empty, hopeless or tearful. Children and teens who are depressed can seem irritable, angry or hostile.

·Having a marked loss of interest or feeling no pleasure in all or most activities.

·Losing a lot of weight when not dieting or overeating and gaining weight. When children don't gain weight as expected, this can be a sign of depression.

·Sleeping too little or too much.

·Feeling restless or acting slower than usual.

·Being very tired or losing energy.

·Feeling worthless, feeling too guilty or feeling guilty when it's not necessary.

·Having a hard time thinking or concentrating, or not being able to make decisions.

·Thinking about, planning or attempting suicide.

Bipolar symptoms are different from person to person, and they can vary over time. When getting diagnosed, its usually between teen and early 20s. Even though bipolar can happen at any age, it’s hard to diagnose bipolar in children and teens since there are other mental health issues that could be causing your child to have symptoms and then there’s the factor of the normal everyday ups and downs of kids and teenagers. Severe moods swings are a noticeable part of bipolar in children and teens, especially when those moods swings aren’t part of their usual mood swings.

There are three other features of bipolar disorder: Anxious distress, melancholy and psychosis.

Anxious distress is when you’re feeling the symptoms of anxiety and fear that your losing control. Melancholy is when you feel very sad and have a deep loss of pleasure and psychosis is when your thoughts and emotions disconnect from reality.  

The patterns of a manic or hypomanic episode can vary between children and adults. Moods can shift. Children may have periods without symptoms. You just have to watch your child and see if their personality changes. If you think that they have bipolar or any other mental illness, get them seen by a doctor. Treatment is available.  

To be able to get diagnosed with Bipolar 1, you have to have a manic episode. During a manic episode, people with bipolar I disorder experience an extreme increase in energy and mood changes, including feeling extremely happy or uncomfortably irritable. Some people with bipolar I disorder also experience depressive or hypomanic episodes, and most people with bipolar I disorder also have periods of neutral mood.

To get diagnosed with Bipolar 2. You must have at least one major depressive episode and at least one hypomanic episode. Its common that people will function normally between episodes.

When you are going through the struggle of bipolar, you don’t know how it disrupts everyone, including, family and friends. You don’t know that you have bipolar until you get diagnosed. If it gets left untreated, it can lead to something serious. People will have thoughts of harming themselves. They get so caught up in an episode, they don’t know what’s going on. There is an 80-90% chance that bipolar runs in the family. Mostly if it’s a sibling or a parent. Its best to know your family history and get tested if you are worried that you may have bipolar. Like any other mental health conditions, there is no shame. If you makes you feel better, talk to a doctor.

Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bipolar-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20355955