“I think I have bi-polar”. I hear this statement an alarmingly high amount of times when new patients come into my office.
“Why do you think you have bi-polar?” I ask.
“Because I can be happy one minute and super upset the next.”
This is a normal response to what society knows about bi-polar – that it’s a condition that is characterized by up and down mood swings. Now, someone who struggles with mood swings has labeled themselves as having a major mental illness that requires some very heavy medications. It's a good thing they came to see me so we can get this cleared up.
Here's a key question to help determine if you have bi-polar. “Are your mood swings the result of an event?”. If so, this isn't bi-polar. If you were happy and then something happened and the next minute you were angry – this is a situational mood swing. Bi-polar is chemical, not situational. Situational mood swings are not mental illnesses, although they do feel terrible.
Bi-polar does have ups and downs, so to speak. We call the “up” mania. We call the “down” depression. With bi-polar, people cycle between mania and depression.
For a bi-polar sufferer in a depressed state, nothing in their life will snap them out of it. There is no “I was happy one minute and then upset the next.” When depressed, a bi-polar sufferer could win the mega millions lotto and still feel miserable. Or, if they are manic they could experience a great loss in their lives and still not feel down or depressed. A bi-polar's moods are not determined by external events. In fact, the alternating states of mania and depression usually last for weeks to months at a time. It is very rare for a bi-polar to cycle between these two states within a matter of days – and certainly unlikely that they could cycle within a single day.
There are two types of bi-polar; bi-polar 1 and bi-polar 2. Bi-polar 1 people experience mania and bi-polar 2 people experience hypo-mania.
Mania is much more severe than hypo-mania. Mania is a state of unusually and continuously effusive and open, elated, or irritable mood. In short, it’s a super hyper, super irritated, highly agitated state that consists of dangerous and risky behavior. Mania is so dangerous that it usually results in hospitalization because the behavior displayed is dangerous to other people or to themselves.
Hypo-mania consists of the same types of behavior only much more mild. Usually resulting in bad choices and being difficult to be around but no need for hospitalization.
With true bi-polar you could cycle, for weeks to months at a time, between mania and depression. Depression is defined as a constant sense of hopelessness and despair and may include:
So remember the difference between a chemical disorder that lasts for weeks to months at a time, regardless of what is going on in your life, and everyday mood swings.
If you are struggling with everyday mood swings, and you are in fact experiencing happiness one minute and anger or sadness the next, you are suffering from symptoms of stress and your coping abilities are overwhelmed. The good news is that if this is what you are experiencing, our counselors are here to help. We see this kind of thing a lot.
To find out of you might qualify for having bi-polar try our free symptom checker
Written by Brad Messenger, LMSW.