Bipolar depression, which is also known as manic depression, is a psychiatric condition that may best be described to specify a class of mood disorders wherein a person feels clinical depression as well as mania, hypomania and also mixed states. A person suffering from bipolar depression can sometimes be disabled though there are a number of persons who can still lead normal and productive lives even if they do not get treated for manic depression. However, it needs to be stressed that is a distressful condition which affects the patient as well as those close to the patient.

There are two types of bipolar depression and these are Bipolar I and Bipolar II and, if these conditions are not treated, they can be extremely disabling conditions that may even prove fatal as it may induce the patient to commit suicide.

Not The Same As Unipolar Depression

There is a fundamental difference between manic depression and unipolar depression in that the former may involve manic as well as depressive moods and the time it takes as well as the intensity can change from person to person. When moods change from one state to another it is known as cycling and these mood changes may impair or improve functioning which is dependent on how severe the attack is.

When a person suffers from manic depression, the signs as well as the symptoms include feeling constantly sad, anxious, guilty, and hopeless, sleep gets disturbed and appetite becomes reduced, a feeling of fatigue sets in and there is less interest in daily activities. The person with bipolar depression would also not be able to concentrate and feels irritable and there may also be chronic pain for which the cause may be unknown as well as the patient will also continually be thinking about suicide.

Bipolar depression results in disability, lost years of productivity and there is also much danger of committing suicide and, therefore, it is indeed very insidious. In addition, it can also be accompanied by symptoms of psychosis which may include hallucinating or hearing, seeing or otherwise sensing things that are not there and he or she may also be deluding him or herself and have false beliefs for which no adequate reason or evidence are available and which cannot be explained by normal rational thought. Some patients of manic depression may have paranoia and feel persecuted or monitored by an entity more powerful and this could be the government or an intimidating force.