3.4 - Bipolar Affective Disorder and Clinical Depression

Bipolar Affective disorder is a mood disorder formerly known as manic depression. The disorder generally manifests in varying combinations of manic and depressive episodes. However, some people with bipolar disorder only experience manic episodes. A manic episode may be described as an abnormally and persistently elevated or irritable mood which lasts for at least one week characterised by the persistence of some of the following symptoms:

• Expressions of grandiosity;
• Decreased reliance on sleep or rest;
• More talkative than usual;
• Flight of ideas and/or racing thoughts;
• Distractibility;
• Reduction in sleep;
• Increased goal-directed activity; and
• Excessive imprudent pleasure seeking.

In contrast, a depressive episode may be characterised by the presence of some of the following symptoms:

• Persistent depressed mood characterised by sadness or feelings of emptiness;
• Significantly diminished ability to feel pleasure in daily activities;
• Significant weight loss or weight gain;
• Persistent insomnia or hypersomnia;
• Persistent restlessness or lethargy;
• Persistent fatigue;
• Persistent feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt;
• A deterioration in cognitive process; and
• Persistent thoughts of death.

For more information see the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual For
Mental Disorder