Has your loved one been acting different lately?  Is their behavior more down than usual?  Then you might be interested in knowing the top 12 symptoms of a bipolar depressive episode.

If you suspect that your loved one may be experiencing a bipolar depressive episode, then see if they are acting in any or all of the following ways:

• Being more tired and less energy
• Having more aches and pains than usual
• Not as interested in activities they used to enjoy
• Withdrawing from friends and family and wanting to be alone
• Having poor concentration
• Less interested in sex
• Experiencing extreme sadness and depression
• Wanting to sleep more
• Having crying spells
• Feeling helpless or hopeless
• Having accidents that involve injury (these may be signs of suicide attempts)
• Talking about death or dying

We all have “blue” times, bad moods, or periods where we are mildly depressed. 

However, if your loved one has more than 4 or 5 of the above symptoms, and these symptoms continue for several weeks, they may be in (or going into) a bipolar depressive episode.

If this is the case, your loved one may need more help than you can provide.  Try to get them to see a professional as soon as you can.