Bipolar Disorder: Causes, Symptoms, Types & Tests

Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition that causes a lot of changes to a person's mood, energy, activities, sleep, and daily functioning. These are different from the natural fluctuations that everyone goes through. Bipolar disorder involves mood changes that can include periods of mania, hypomania, and depression.

Knowing about causes, symptoms, types, and tests for bipolar disorder helps individuals and families identify potential signs and symptoms and get a professional opinion if they think they or their loved ones need it. Many who suffer from bipolar disorder find relief from their symptoms and keep functioning and enjoying their lives with the proper treatment and support.

What Is Bipolar Disorder?

Bipolar disorder is a healthcare condition characterized by periods of mood, energy, and activity extremes. A person with mania is a person who is very energized, very happy, or very irritated and who needs less sleep. During depression, the person feels very sad, hopeless, fatigued, and uninvolved with usual activities. Some have a milder form of the disorder called hypomania, whose symptoms are similar to mania, but not as intense. Episodes occur in a unique way and are more or less severe in each person. Bipolar disorder usually begins in late adolescence or early adulthood, but is identified at other ages.

Bipolar Disorder Causes

Researchers aren't certain what causes bipolar disorder. Studies indicate that multiple factors play a role in causing the condition, not just a single factor.

Genetic Factors

Bipolar disorder has a hereditary nature. If a close member of the family has the condition, then the person is more likely to develop it. But even a family history is no sure sign of whether or not a person develops BD. They think that several genes are involved in the risk.

Brain Structure and Function

Some studies have found differences in brain structure and function in individuals with BD. Researchers are ongoing to learn more about the development of these changes and the effectiveness of various treatments.

Stress and Other Factors

For some individuals with a genetic predisposition to BD, stressful or traumatic events are more likely to trigger the onset of BD. The signs and symptoms also vary depending on other factors. It's important to note that mere personality, lifestyle, or ordinary fluctuations in mood are not causes of bipolar disorder.

Bipolar Disorder Symptoms

Bipolar disorder symptoms can be different depending on whether a person is experiencing mania, hypomania, or depression.

Symptoms of Mania

Mania may involve:

• Feeling extremely happy, excited, or unusually irritable
• Having much more energy than usual
• Needing very little sleep
• Talking much faster than usual
• Having racing thoughts
• Feeling unusually confident or important
• Taking on many activities at once
• Becoming easily distracted
• Engaging in impulsive or risky activities

Acute manic periods disrupt functioning with the job, relationships, and normal life. Other symptoms of psychosis also occur during periods of severe mood swings, with some people developing hallucinations or experiencing delusions.

Bipolar Disorder Types

According to NIMH, there are three types of bipolar disorder: bipolar I, bipolar II, and cyclothymic disorder.

Bipolar I Disorder

Bipolar I disorder involves more manic episodes, which last for at least 7 days or are severe and warrant hospitalization. Depressive episodes are also very common, but these are not required for the diagnosis of BD I.

Bipolar II Disorder

Episodes of hypomania and depression are characteristic of bipolar II disorder. Depressive episodes in Bipolar II disorder cause severe disruption in one's life, while elevated mood episodes are not as disruptive as mania in Bipolar I disorder.

Cyclothymic Disorder

Hypomanic and depressive symptoms repeatedly occur, but do not meet the criteria for hypomanic or depressive episodes in the persistent cyclothymic disorder. The symptoms are chronic and persist in everyday activities. Other specified and unspecified bipolar and related disorders also exist and are associated with symptoms that do not fit within the above major ranges of bipolar disorders.

How Is Bipolar Disorder Diagnosed?

No single blood test, scan, or lab test is reliable in diagnosing bipolar disorder. Diagnosis entails a complete evaluation made by a health professional, typically a mental health specialist like a psychiatrist. The doctor inquires about mood, sleep, energy, behavior, how the patient functions, and the duration of the symptoms during the evaluation. Details relating to previous mood episodes and family history are also useful. The doctor takes the person's severity, duration, and frequency of symptoms into account over the course of their life. This is because bipolar disorder can sometimes be mistaken for another mental health condition.

Bipolar Disorder Tests

No tests specifically diagnose bipolar disorder, but physicians suggest medical tests that are used to exclude other conditions that mimic the signs and symptoms of it. In fact, mood disorder symptoms are similar to some medical issues such as thyroid disorders. Some drugs or substances impact mood and behavior. This then includes a physical examination and a suitable laboratory test. The most crucial aspect of diagnosis is a mental illness assessment. Structured evaluations or questionnaires are also used as part of the assessment process but should not replace in-depth clinical assessment by the doctor.

Why Early Evaluation Matters

If the person notices or others notice major and consistent shifts in mood, sleep, energy, and/or behavior, that can help to motivate the person to get professional help sooner. When bipolar disorder is not treated well, it impacts how people relate, how they work, school, and their daily functioning. Early evaluation by a professional aids the development of an appropriate treatment plan and identifies that the condition exists. Finally, it is helpful for those in the family to realize that bipolar disorder is a medical illness, and that during a manic or depressive episode, the person should not be judged for their mood and behavior.

Role of Medical Testing in Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder can't be diagnosed directly with medical tests. But sometimes laboratory tests are helpful in excluding physical causes of similar symptoms, or to obtain health status information before initiating some treatments. The type of tests used will depend on the individual's symptoms, medical history, medications, and the health care providers' evaluation.

Conclusion

Bipolar disorder, a brain disorder, is a mood, energy, activity, sleep, and behavior change. It is seen in mania/hypomania or in depression, and is experienced within periods or in conjunction; it is experienced differently by each person. Many people may not know they should see a professional for an evaluation if they have symptoms of BD, unless they are educated on the symptoms, causes, types, and tests of BD.

There is no one blood test or scan that is used to diagnose bipolar disorder. Diagnosis involves a careful examination of the patient's presentation, length, severity, personal and family history features, and medical tests (if needed) to rule out other causes. If you or a loved one has serious or persistent changes in mood or behavior, or changes in sleeping, activity, or eating habits, be sure to talk to a trained health care worker.

Molecular Diagnostics and Therapy is able to offer diagnostic services to support medical evaluation when testing and diagnosis are medically indicated. When individuals are having significant or frequent fluctuations in their mood, sleep, energy, or behavior, the next step should be a check-up with a trained healthcare worker. The clinical assessment helps the GP decide if any medical tests are beneficial and if referral to a mental health worker is necessary.