Bipolar Depression Symptoms

• ARTICLE

If the onset of depression always seems to surprise you, here are seven signs that your mood is headed south. #1 Withdrawing from social interaction Regardless of whether you are naturally introverted or extroverted, if you find yourself struggling to socialize, bipolar depression could be on the horizon. Make note of ‘red flag’ behaviors such...

• BLOG

I’ve found that there are two kinds of bipolar depression, and few seek treatment for the second type. By identifying our depressive symptoms before we get sick, we can manage bipolar disorder far more successfully. Here are the signs of an angry and irritated downswing. Not All Symptoms of Bipolar Depression Are Obvious I have bipolar...

• ARTICLE

Bipolar depression disrupts and devastates lives, and tends to dominate the course of a person’s illness. Yet, it’s still difficult to diagnose and treat. It is the manic phase of bipolar disorder that attracts—no, demands—attention. But those who have the illness, or love someone who does, know it is depression that most disrupts and devastates...

• ARTICLE

This past year has been challenging, and the upcoming holiday season is likely to be no different—especially when we’re feeling isolated. To stay out of the holiday blues or bipolar depression, I am approaching this season proactively, tackling loneliness directly and finding ways to be festive and joyful. Feeling Lonely & Isolated During the Holidays...

• ARTICLE

My anxiety at the family dinner table often made me “check out” during gatherings like Thanksgiving. I got lost in my head, where I felt safer. But I also missed out on all the fun. Here is how I set an intention to stay in a healthy mindset, escape the holiday blues, and learned to...

• ARTICLE

To prepare for the possibility of a relapse of bipolar depression, it is important to consider a few ideas about mindset, control, and support. While bipolar is often equated with mania, it’s bipolar depression that predominates for most people and can be a destructive force in our lives. When the despair finally lifts, it can...

• ARTICLE

I’ve always faced deep depression in the fall months, but now I’m wondering, how will this unprecedented year affect the darker of my bipolar mood episodes? It’s about that time of the year again. When the leaves change colors, creating beautiful landscapes. When the heat of the summer is replaced by cool, crisp evenings. When...

• ARTICLE

When a trifecta of painful life circumstances culminated in me hitting my lowest point of bipolar depression, I had no choice but to rebuild myself. So I set the bar high, aiming for becoming the best possible version of myself. My Lowest Point with Bipolar Depression They say when you hit rock bottom, there is...

• ARTICLE

Mood symptoms such as overspending, hypersexuality, anger attacks, and self-isolation hurt those around us. A simple apology is just the starting point of making things right. When Our Actions during Bipolar Mood Episodes Harm Others Olivia S. of Colorado got up one morning to unexpectedly find two of her four grown children in her living...

• ARTICLE

My bipolar disorder causes me to be more sensitive to what is going on in the world. I am curious, compassionate, and a helper. So, when that news is not just negative but triggering, I need to set boundaries and try to avoid a depressive episode. Nationwide Crises, Overwhelm, & Bipolar Depression The United States...

• ARTICLE

Some bipolar mood episodes can make us behave in ways that are “mean and nasty.” They aren’t fun—for anybody—but the good news is we can learn to recognize and prevent them before our relationships suffer. Many people believe that bipolar disorder comes with only sad depression or euphoric mania. In reality, this is just 50%...

• ARTICLE

Many of us can remember it in perfect detail: the exact moment when we realized that we were living with bipolar disorder—and, in my case, not depression. Here I unravel my pre-diagnosis misconceptions, “mistakes,” and hypo/manic misadventures—and that pivotal moment of recognition. My Magic/Manic Moment of Metacognition … The Musical Who wants to open up...

• ARTICLE

A recent health concern requiring medical tests, doctor visits, and more appointments complicated not only my daily living but also my bipolar, triggering a depressive episode. Here is how I got through it and came out the other side. Regular Maintenance, a Reality of Bipolar Let’s face it. Sometimes, having and dealing with bipolar can...

• ARTICLE

When you love a person who is hurting, you want to somehow love your way out of their depression. This rarely works. Thankfully, you can learn what does work, like helping them learn to harness their own inner drill sergeant. Why Love Isn’t Enough Bipolar depression is an illness, like diabetes, so—unfortunately!— love is not...

• ARTICLE

As my six-month-long bipolar depressive episode finally started to lift, I felt a shift in perspective inspired by a quote I read in bp Magazine—plus a genuine sense of gratitude for “normal” moods. Smiling at Last! I woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning, so to speak. Well, okay, maybe I became that way after...

• ARTICLE

Life recently dealt me a series of hard blows, triggering rapid-cycling depressive and hypomanic episodes. Bipolar brought me my knees, then flat on the mat. Then, at last, came a hard-fought epiphany on bipolar and genuine acceptance. “In the clearing stands a boxerAnd a fighter by his tradeAnd he carries the remindersOf every glove that...

• ARTICLE

Mixed episodes of mania and depression aren’t easy to spot, but when they hit, they’re among my most exhausting experiences. Not only did I learn how these mood episodes affect me, but I realized the risk they carry—and that is my biggest fear. “Mood Episodes with Mixed Features,” aka Bipolar Mixed Episodes Something that I...

• ARTICLE

To effectively manage our moods and find treatments that work, it is vital that we clear away the confusion surrounding common misbeliefs about bipolar disorder. I understand why people get confused about bipolar disorder. It’s a complicated illness with many symptoms. It helps to know what isn’t true about bipolar so that we can make...

• ARTICLE

Continued from “Help for Climbing Out of Bipolar Depression” ECT (Electroconvulsive Therapy) for Depression What happens when standard medications don’t make much of a dent in depressive symptoms? Some recent developments hold out hope to people with treatment-resistant depressions—low moods so gripping they don’t improve after several medication trials. For now, the fallback remains electroconvulsive...

• ARTICLE

No matter how desperate it feels, there’s hope—and tools and support—for climbing out of bipolar depression. When Sara F. of Massachusetts has a hypomanic episode, she copes OK. Her hypomania tends to be dysphoric rather than euphoric, so she gets more angry or irritable than usual—but she’s still able to function throughoutthe day. The bigger...

• ARTICLE

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, everyone is smiling—and suddenly I hate all of it! Bipolar depression strikes again. Here is what I do to try to return to mood stability and enjoy the day. The Suddenness of Bipolar Mood Episodes Ever have those beautiful, bright days where you wake up … and...

• ARTICLE

Depression takes so much energy from our bodies. It makes it very difficult for us to find empathy or be there for others. Treating depression first is the path to ending the “selfish” symptoms that depression creates. Is It Me or Is It My Bipolar Depression? Too often, when we are in the midst of...

• ARTICLE

In these trying times, I have experienced emotional highs and lows. It has been helpful for me to try to distinguish reasonable or “normal” mood shifts from signs that I should start to worry about my well-being and bipolar symptoms. Untangling Our “New Normal,” My Own “Normal,” & Bipolar Red Flags I have been sheltering...