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Drawing the Line Between Bipolar and Depression

Moments of extreme sadness, melancholy, and despair; these are just a few symptoms of depression. However, these are also symptoms of having bipolar disorder. Most people think that bipolar and depression is the same. Some people even interchange their use of the terms ‘bipolar’ and ‘depression’.

Yes, bipolar and depression do have common symptoms that can lead to misdiagnosis. However, you should know that bipolar and depression are two completely different conditions. They also need different intervention strategies and treatment.

If you are feeling such symptoms, then it would be better for you to be able to draw the line between bipolar and depression, so that you can have a clearer picture of what your condition might be.

Name Game

Depression’s proper medical condition name is actually ‘major depressive disorder’. On the other hand, Bipolar disorder’s proper medical name is ‘manic depression. When you isolate the words in the terminologies used in both conditions, you would definitely think that they are interchangeable. However, they are not, and should not be.

Labeling one’s condition involves great responsibility. That’s why you shouldn’t go loosely labeling certain conditions such names because this can lead to mismanagement that can just worsen the condition itself.

Symptoms Galore

Depression’s symptoms include, excessive crying, loss of pleasure, sadness, oversleeping or having too little sleep, inactivity, restlessness, concentration problems, irritability, appetite loss or overeating, worthlessness, hopelessness, headaches, pain, constipation, and twisted suicidal thoughts.

On the other hand, bipolar disorder include symptoms such as inappropriate euphoria or excitement, need for little sleep only, reckless behavior, racing thoughts, having excessive energy and talking, overspending, poor judgment, irritability, abnormal increase in activity such as sexual activity, difficulty concentrating, and having aggressive behavior.

As you can see, bipolar and depression have similar symptoms, but there are some characteristics of bipolar disorder that draws the line between the two conditions. Mania is the key element that delineates bipolar from depression.

It is the manic episodes of bipolar disorder that makes it different from depression. Basically, depression is all about having consistent low and somber moods. Bipolar disorder on the other hand, doesn’t just have low and somber moods, but also moments of too much happiness, and episodes of out of control behaviors.

So if you are experiencing depressive symptoms, it would be better to objectively reevaluate your actions, because you might have over looked other important behaviors such as manic episodes, too much excitement and extreme mood shifts.