What Is Manic Depression?

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depressive illness, is a

common illness characterized by current episodes of mania

and major depression. An affected person's mood can swing from

excessive highs (mania) to profound hopelessness (depression), usually

with periods of normal mood in between. Some individuals may exhibit

mixed symptoms of both mania and depression at the same time, while

others may have more moderate symptoms of mania (hypo mania).

The type, severity and duration of mood episodes experienced can vary.

Some individuals may have a predominance of either mania or depression,

whereas some sufferers may experience equal numbers of both.

The mood episodes can last for a few days to as long as several months,

particularly when left untreated or not treated effectively. Depressions

tend to last longer than manic episodes. Typically, a person with bipolar

disorder can expect an average of ten episodes of mania or

depression in his or her lifetime but some sufferers experience much more

frequent mood episodes. The frequency of episodes tends to increase with

time and individuals who experience four or more episodes in a year are