Types of Bipolar Disorder and their characteristics

The Bipolar disorder it is a serious and complex disorder that presents a wide variety of symptoms. There are different types of this disorder and its symptoms can also occur together with other psychopathologies as the schizophrenia.

In today's article we are going to review the different types of bipolar disorder and their characteristics, since the diagnosis of this mental illness can be complicated for health professionals mental.

A disorder that has been overdiagnosed

Some experts have long been warning that bipolar disorder is being overdiagnosed. For this reason, the Brown University School of Medicine, in the state of Rhode Island, decided to study this phenomenon, that of overdiagnosis. Their conclusions were clear: about 50% of diagnosed cases of Bipolar Disorder could be wrong.

The research was carried out with the analysis of the data provided by interviews taken with 800 psychiatric patients using a comprehensive diagnostic test. Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders. But what are the causes of this overdiagnosis? Researchers think that there is a greater propensity for specialists to diagnose bipolar disorder compared to other more stigmatizing disorders and for which there is no clear treatment.

On the other hand, there is another hypothesis that states that the fault lies in aggressive advertising by companies pharmaceutical companies, as they have a great interest in the commercialization of the drugs used in the treatments of this pathology. Something that also happens with the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

• You can know more about this study in our article: "Researchers Point to Overdiagnosis of Bipolar Disorder"

Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder

The primary symptoms of bipolar disorder are unpredictable mood swings, and the most characteristic are the symptoms of the state of mania and of the depressive state.

Symptoms of the mania phase

Symptoms of mania include excessive arousal, perception of grandeur, irritability, lack of sleep, noticeable increase in energy, high sex drive, and verbiage. During the mania phase, individuals can abuse drugs, carry out risky behaviors and make decisions that are harmful and negative for them, such as leaving work.

Symptoms of the depressive phase

Symptoms of the depressive phase include sadness, anxiety, irritability, loss of energy, uncontrollable crying, changes in appetite leading to weight gain or loss, excessive need for sleep, difficulty making decisions and suicidal thoughts.

Also, manic and depressive symptoms can appear together. When this happens, it is called a “mixed episode”.

Types of Bipolar Disorder

There are different types of bipolar disorder characterized by different degrees of depressive or manic symptoms. The five types of bipolar disorder are: cyclothymia, type I bipolar disorder, type II bipolar disorder, unspecified bipolar disorder, and rapid cycling bipolar disorder.

Cyclothymia

The cyclothymia is a variant of bipolar disorder but its symptoms are less severeIn other words, people who suffer from this disorder have mild phases of depression and hypomania. The latter, hypomania, is a psychological alteration that can be understood as a weak, less accentuated version of mania, and of fact does not usually put the physical integrity of the person who develops it at risk, something that does occur with the mania of the disorder bipolar.

Individuals are diagnosed after symptoms persist for at least two years.

• Learn more about cyclothymia in our post: "Cyclothymia: the mild version of Bipolar Disorder"

Type I Bipolar Disorder

A person affected by type I bipolar disorder have had at least one episode of mania in their lifetimeSince this type of bipolar disorder is characterized by the presence of episodes of mania or, in some cases, mixed, and the subject has not necessarily suffered a depressive phase. However, approximately 90% of cases the patient goes through both phases (mania and depression).

Type II Bipolar Disorder

The type II bipolar disorder is diagnosed when the subject has suffered one or more episodes of major depression and at least one episode of hypomania. Sometimes, type II bipolar disorder can be confused with major depression, so it is essential to make a correct diagnosis for a better recovery of the patient.

Unspecified Bipolar Disorder

It may be that bipolar disorder cannot be classified within the previous three (cyclothymia, type I and type II) for different reasons. For example, when hypomanic episodes are recurrent. There are situations in which the psychologist or psychiatrist has concluded that there is a bipolar disorder, but he is unable to determine if he is primary, due to a medical illness or because of being induced by a substance.

The most common subtypes of bipolar disorder are:

• Very rapid alternation (in days) between manic symptoms and depressive symptoms that do not meet the minimum duration criterion for a manic episode or a major depressive episode.
• Recurrent hypomanic episodes without breakthrough depressive symptoms.
• A manic or mixed episode superimposed on a delusional disorder, a residual schizophrenia or an unspecified psychotic disorder.

Rapid Cycle Bipolar Disorder

Individuals with rapid-cycling bipolar disorder experience four or more episodes of mania or depression in a one-year period. About 10% to 20% of patients with this disorder have the "fast cycling" type..

Misconceptions about Bipolar Disorder

Despite the fact that bipolar disorder is quite well known by the population, at least as far as the name is concerned, there is great misinformation about this psychopathology. Many people think that this disorder is characterized by sudden mood swings on the same day or by emotional ups and downs.

In reality, bipolar disorder is a serious disorder that, like schizophrenia or paranoid disorder, requires the administration of drugs and vigilance in the lifestyle of patients to avoid relapses. Therefore, if you want to know more about bipolar disorder and be well informed, we invite you to read our article:

• “Bipolar Disorder: 10 characteristics and curiosities that you did not know”

Bibliographic references:

• Connolly, Kevin R.; Thase, Michael E. (2011). "The Clinical Management of Bipolar Disorder: A Review of Evidence-Based Guidelines." Prim Care Companion CNS Disord.
• Harrington R. (2005). Affective disorders. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 4th ed. Oxford: Blackwel Publising.
• Moreno C, Laje G, Blanco C, Jiang H, Schmidt AB, Olfson M. (September 2007) "National trends in the outpatient diagnosis and treatment of bipolar disorder in youth," Archives of General Psychiatry.
• Salvadore, G.; Quiroz, J.A.; Machado-Vieira, R.; Henter, I.D., Manji, H.K., Zarate, C.A. (2010). The neurobiology of the switch process in bipolar disorder: a review. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 71 (11): pp. 1488 - 1501.
• Weissenrieder, Annette (2003). Images of illness in the Gospel of Luke: insights of ancient medical texts. Mohr Siebeck.