People are generally confused by the concept of bipolar personality disorder since it is one of the lesser known and certainly more invisible mental illnesses.   Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that causes severe alterations in behavior, attitude, thinking and mood. A person inflicted with bipolar disorder can experience extreme mood shifts between euphoria and depression.Mania and depression are the two opposite poles of human emotion.

The term bipolar reflects the swings between these two poles.  A typical symptom of bipolar personality disorder is the ‘elevated mood’ which means any mental condition, sadness or happiness, taken to the extreme level. Most frighteningly, the illness arrives without giving any signal beforehand. Bipolar personality disorder may be manifested first as hypomania which is a milder form of the manic episode.

In the manic state, the person feels euphoric, has high energy levels, is unable to concentrate easily, speaks so rapidly and forcefully that it is difficult to follow him; he is likely to have an unrealistic idea about his abilities and is likely to take foolish risks. This condition may last for weeks or a couple of months. It causes great havoc in daily life, especially as it comes and goes at will in a cyclical manner. This could be followed by a period of normalcy till the next episode - usually of depression. People with the bipolar personality disorder experience behavioral severity many times in their lives. Some will experience extreme depression once in a year whereas others may experience problems only twice or thrice in their lifetime.

In the depressive stage, people feel fatigued, sleepy, socially withdrawn and suffer backaches, headaches and digestive problems. Their self- esteem is low and they can’t even make simple decisions in everyday affairs. Patients with extreme depression try to find solace in drugs or alcohol as well as all kinds of irresponsible behavior. The worst part is that some of them even contemplate of committing suicide as a last resort.  Bipolar personality disorder can be found in the children as well as in adults. The level of the severity and frequency of the episodes however, differs significantly among the two age groups.Research proves that the disorder could be triggered by hereditary or genetic factors. Studies have also shown that siblings of a parent with this problem are likely to develop the disorder. However, heredity is not the only cause. Psychiatrists are not ruling out the hormonal, psychological, and environmental causes. The detection or diagnosis of bipolar personality disorder is a most important step.

This should be done with expert help. Presently, there is no definitive test that can diagnose the disease as this disorder can’t be detected by blood tests or brain scans.  It can only be detected clinically – based on signs and symptoms.  With proper diagnosis, medication, and the guidance of an experienced psychotherapist, patients with bipolar personality disorder could lead a normal and productive life.

References

http://www.bipolardepressioninfo.com/ms/guides/treat_bipolar_disorder/main.html

http://www.bipolardepressioninfo.com/ms/guides/bipolar_disorder/main.html