What is Bipolar Type II?
Bipolar 2 is a disorder which is not as uncommon as it is thought to be, affecting around 4-6% of the general population. It develops usually in the late teens or through adolescence. In order to be classified Bipolar 2, there has to be occurrence of at least one episode of major depression and at least one episode of hypomania. People can have a cycle of depression and hypomania in a single day, or they can have it over several weeks, alternating between depression and elation.
Bipolar 2 is a psychological disorder, which entails mood swings from depressive to hypomanic. The person suffering from this disorder suffers from many different moods. There is a significant risk of suicide in Bipolar 2 as there is mood swings over a large spectrum.
It is important for the doctor and patients family members to correctly diagnose this disorder, and to take measures to reduce it. In many cases, the symptoms are misinterpreted for other disorders. A study has found that it takes on an average 6-8 years for Bipolar 2 to be diagnosed. It is also more difficult to diagnose, as hypomania is more subtle than mania and difficult to pinpoint.
There are 2 phases to this disorder: depression and hypomania. Symptoms of depression include decrease in energy, weight loss or gain, irritation and crying for no reason. On the other hand, symptoms of hypomania include decreased sleep, rash decisions, racing thought, distractedness and excess energy.
In most cases, anti-depressants are used to treat Bipolar 2, thought this is often detrimental to the patients. Thought it helps when the patient is depressed, when the hypomanic stages comes, it can be interpreted as a sign that the anti-depressants are working, even though it is just a cyclic change of mood. The patient also finds himself very happy and normal during this time, and hence thinks that the drugs are working.
Highly depressed patients sometimes never even leave the safety of their homes or beds. Due to the feeling of helplessness and the feeling that things will never be good again, many Bipolar patients are liable to try and commit suicide at some point or the other. The appetite is also considerably reduced, and the patients generally eat little to nothing at all while the depression lasts.
Talking and therapy have only a limited effect in such cases as the problem here is of chemical imbalance in the body, and not of any other reason. So where therapy can help a little, it is in the end a chemical imbalance that needs to be treated accordingly.
Apart from these 2 phases, Bipolar 2 patients exhibit a variety of other symptoms like narcissist, borderline, antisocial, obsessive-compulsive and many other mental disorders. The more intense this disorder, a higher rate of attempted suicide is found.
With good treatment and proper care, Bipolar 2 patients can still lead a relatively normal and successful life. With both therapy and medication, a patient can recover fully and lead a normal life.