Although bipolar depression and unipolar depression (or Major Depressive Disorder) may appear similar, they both have drastically different symptoms. Some symptoms of major depression may not also be bipolar depression symptoms, and vice versa. With bipolar depression, individuals often experience periods of depression & extreme mood swings. Also, with bipolar depression, there is always the chance it could be mixed with bipolar mania–which is called a mixed episode. Here is more information about the difference between bipolar depression and unipolar depression:
My friend Deborah recently asked me to clarify the distinction between clinical depression (also known as unipolar depression) and bipolar disorder. It’s a question I get a lot and one that strikes close to home. I was misdiagnosed with unipolar depression for nearly a decade and that misdiagnosis led to a lot of grief. So...
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Said no one ever! But is that because no one enjoys depression, or is it because no one wants to confess to getting cozy in the cave of gloom? Well, I’m going to make a confession. Sometimes, I find depression comforting. It’s not that I like being sad. And I definitely don’t like sifting through...
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If you have bipolar, or care about someone who does, look for the patterns in what a person says. It might be useful in recognizing an impending mood episode. Bipolar disorder is chaotic in terms of mood swings, but once a person is in a mood swing, the behavior is very predictable. Depressed people talk...
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Depression is not always sobbing, sleeping, and social isolation––it can also be enraging and hopeless. When I think depression, I think sobbing, sleeping, and social isolation. Surprizingly enough, I think depressive episodes can also have very different symptoms. My latest episode … Captain Angry Eyes! I was doing fine, right? I was stable, life was...
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For most people, having a bad day is just that: one bad day. For those of us with bipolar, it can be terrifying. After all, one bad day could be a sign of impending doom…a kind of depression that might last for weeks, months, or even longer. More often than not, our mood will lift sooner...
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Hypomania convinces us that taking on extra responsibilities is no problem––until depression enters and makes just getting out of bed each morning a monumental task. I’m a doer. A tiny tenacious go-getter. It’s in my nature, or blood or … something like that. Due to this ridiculous ambition, I’m also a giver, a people pleaser,...
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Your libido is an excellent indicator for impending mood swings: lack of desire might be a red flag for depression, and an insatiable desire might indicate mania. The first time I saw a psychiatrist he asked if I experienced a lack of interest in things that I had once loved, if I felt sad all...
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Do you experience mixed moods of mania and depression and have difficulty determining which one you’re experiencing? I’m not always sure what mood I have. Is there a mood that is neither depression nor mania? When we are living in the world of changing moods, it is sometimes difficult to identify the mood we are experiencing. In bipolar illness, the key difficulty is...
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Here are seven techniques that can help you improve your mood when living with depression. Since people with bipolar disorder spend three times as many days depressed as elated, it is the lows more than the highs that cause people to seek help. When my clients are living with depression, one of the most helpful...
READ MORERecovery is not about never getting sick again—it’s about bouncing back when you do. I often feel as if I’ve stepped back in time when I get really sick. I think, “How could this happen again? I’ve worked so hard to get where I am!” Just a few weeks ago, I made this comment to my therapist after I had trouble at work and went into a depression....
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Searching for a job can be triggering for your bipolar disorder. Here are 10 tips for making sure you maintain stability while unemployed. By Sasha Kildare The challenge of finding a job that more than pays the rent can drag down anyone’s mood. However, the uncertainty, lack of structure and financial pressures that characterize...
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It’s difficult to get things done when you’re depressed. Julie Fast shares some personal advice on working through bipolar depression to get things done. There’s no question it’s difficult to get things done when you’re depressed. I’ve certainly had a hard time with this for most of my life. I had plenty of ideas...
READ MOREOne man’s brave story about bridging the gap between depression and recovery By Brenda Alesii On September 25, 2000, John Kevin had a change of heart. The 19-year-old San Francisco student, known to family and friends as “Kevin,” was plummeting off the Golden Gate Bridge to a certain death, one that would finally silence...
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When not enough light makes a difference in your mood stability, you can take steps to recognize what is happening and address your symptoms before an episode begins. Do you dread the winter? I know I do! I live in Portland, Oregon, where it can be dark and dreary all day long during winter. For...
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A doctor’s story about how manic depression plagued one of his patients. The life of a doctor has its ups and downs. There are notable successes, of course, but many of my patients are severely ill. Years of work with them may lead to only marginal improvement in their condition. Every now and then, however,...
READ MOREJane’s journey from hypomanic to healing By Brenda Alesii With a distinctive surname and an address in the heart of the Rockies, Jane F. Mountain, MD, knows a thing or two about peaks and valleys. In her 56 years, Jane, a family physician, has taken a circuitous route to her current role as...
READ MOREOne woman’s story about losing it all and gaining it back again. By Brenda Alesii Before multitasking was a fashionable term, Jackie of suburban Detroit, was living the life. Her public face was that of a creative, driven, single-minded machine—the consummate ‘70s career woman, coping with the usual ups and downs of a...
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