Breaking it Down

"Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is a common psychiatric disorder. It is one of several conditions referred to as mood disorders, which are diagnosed based on the occurrence of episodes. Understanding the concept of an episode is important for understanding mood disorders. A mood episode refers to a set of symptoms that occur during the same time period. This simple definition is made more complex because the set of symptoms used to make the diagnosis can include many different combinations of symptoms. For example, mood episodes can be understood much like an episode in a weekly television show. We can think of symptoms like the cast of characters. In this example, mood symptoms are the leading players, but to be recognizable as an episode of a specific show, the presence of other supporting actors is required. Although the entire cast may never be present in the same scene, and some actors may appear in more than one show, we can usually recognize a specific show by the appearance of any combination of a small number of cast members. Once we recognize the show, however, an episode can be said to continue for as long as the lead player and/or the supporting cast maintain a significant presence on stage." -Living with Bipolar Disorder by: Michael W. Otto, Noreen A. Reilly-Harrington, Robert O. Knauz, Aude Henin, Jane N. Kogan, and Gary S. Sachs.

There are 4 types of episodes someone can experience. Depression, hypomania, mania and mixed episodes.

Depression is more than a sad mood most people might experience when they are having a bad day. This is a medical disorder that lasts at least 2 weeks and makes a combination of emotional and physical symptoms that make it difficult to function in the world as we know it.
Feelings of sadness, hopelessness and pessimism usually follow this mood. They are accompanied by physical symptoms like difficulty sleeping, poor concentration and memory, low energy, and change in appetite.

Hypomania refers to a clearly abnormal mood state with mild to severe symptoms of mania. This can last for a few days or for many months. The difference between mania and hypomania are both the severity of symptoms and the effect the symptoms have on your life. Hypomania does not usually cause the same about of damage to one's life as mania does but it still is problematic. Hypomania usually occurs just before or right after other severe mood states.

Mania is more than just a lot of energy, it is actually a very serious condition. It includes increased energy, racing thoughts, inflated self esteem, poor judgement, a decreased need for sleep, abnormal irritability, extreme happiness, and overparticipation in risky activities. It is considered mania if these symptoms are present during the period of at least one week.

Althougth mania and hypomania can feel good to someone with mood disorders (especially after a bout of depression) they can cause the most damage to relationships, jobs, and life in general. After mania, a person can be left in a pile of debt from over spending or in sexual trouble from hypersexuality and many partners during the mania.