What Are The Symptoms Of Cyclothymia?

One can think of cyclothymia as "bipolar lite," characterized by mood swings from hypomania to mild depression.

What Are The Symptoms Of Schizoaffective Disorder?

The DSM lists schizoaffective disorder under "Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders," but a strong body of opinion suggests that even though bipolar and schizophrenia are distinct disorders, they form part of a spectrum with overlapping features. Schizoaffective disorder occupies the middle ground between bipolar and schizophrenia, characterized by mania and depression as well as psychosis (delusions, incoherent speech, hallucinations) or other features of schizophrenia.

I Have My Up Moods And Down Moods, My Bad Days And Good. Does This Mean I Have Bipolar?

Not necessarily. Mood swings are normal, as are the many features of mood, including elation, grief, and anger. But when your behavior begins to affect your work and social relations or is noticeable by others, you may have a problem.

So With Mania & Hypomania We’re Talking Over The Top Behavior?

Here’s how one reader describes the experience "Thursday night I was so angry it was difficult to keep from throwing and breaking everything within reach. Friday I was elated, giddy, fun to be around. Saturday seemed fine, happy but calm. Sunday morning I woke up and started cleaning the apartment. I moved furniture, on hands and knees I scrubbed every bit of carpet and floor, I vacuumed, I mopped, I took the vacuum and cleaned out all the vents and heaters, I reorganized my closets."

Can You Talk About The Depression Side Of The Equation?

By all means. Mania gets all the attention, but bipolar patients are actually depressed three times more than they are manic, and the depressed phase of the illness results in more hospitalizations than the manic side. Moreover, depression accounts for nearly all of the bipolar suicides, one in five among those untreated. This amounts to double decimation, as decimation literally means one in ten.

Is Bipolar Depression Different Than Unipolar Depression?

Unfortunately, bipolar depression has been little studied, as the depressive side of the equation, Until very recently it was taken for granted by researchers and clinicians. Based on what we know, it appears many people with bipolar suffer from "atypical" depression rather than "melancholic" depression, such as eating and sleeping too much (as opposed to eating too little and insomnia), sensitivity to rejection, and leaden paralysis. For a full discussion of depression, please see Part I of the Depression FAQ.