Bipolar Disorder: a mood disorder which has symptoms of both mania and depression. (Cardwell, 35) Involves periods of incapacitating depression alternating with periods of extreme “euphoria” and excitement. (Hockenbury, 523) Characterized by severe mood swings. Individuals experience depression, then experience mania, never seeming to be able to achieve an emotional stability or balance. (Bamford, 10/25/10) A formal diagnosis is made if the symptoms are severe enough to cause a serious impairment of functioning or to require hospitalization, and if the client shows evidence of elaborate or irritable mood. (Cardwell, 35) Sleep deprivation, which causes increased activity in the 'amygala,’ can trigger manic episodes in some people with bipolar disorder. (Kandel4, 60) Affects 1% of the population. Many "gene variants" contribute, but only a few such variants are seen in any one family. Studies of the genes behind bipolar disorder suggest as much as 10% of the "genome" is part of the picture! (Lewis, 157) We are all subject to fluctuating moods: an exciting event may cause us to feel euphoric, while an unpleasant one may make us feel cast down. Most of us return to the normal state in a short time. Yet the same event may cause a person with bipolar disorder to plunge into exptreme depression or mania for a long time. We do not know exactly what causes bipolar disorder, but … two “risk factors” are particularly important: first a genetic predisposition, as indicated by a sibling or a parent with the disorder and second, periods of great stress. (Kandel4, 77) Formerly referred to as ‘manic depression.’

Bipolar I: people with Bipolar I disorder have manic episodes, and sometimes cross over into “psychosis” with symptoms such as “delusions” and “hallucinations.” (Kandel4, 77)

Bipolar II: people with Bipolar II disorder have less severe (mania) episodes. (Kandel4, 77)

Mixed State: some people experience symptoms of both mania and depression at the same time. (Kandel4, 77)

Mania: an extreme form of elation and hyperactivity. (Kandel4, 57) Short period of extreme "euphoria." During a manic episode, people are uncharacteristically euphoric, expansive, and excited for several days or longer. Although they sleep very little, they have boundless energy. The person’s self-esteem is wildly inflated, and it exudes supreme self-confidence. (Hockenbury, 523) During the manic episode, the individual may not require sleep, may become extremely talkative, and may develop plans that are exaggerated and over-ambitious. (Bamford, 10/25/10) Characterized by an elevated, expansive, or irritable mood. Includes heightened activity, racing thoughts, impulsiveness, and decreased need for sleep. These episodes are often associated with high-risk behaviors such as substance abuse, sexual promiscuity, excessive spending, or even violence. Manic episodes can be frightening, both for people with bipolar disorder and for the people close to them. Bipolar disorder effects about 1 percent of Americans. While depression affects more women than men, bipolar disorder affects men and women equally. (Kandel4, 76-77) Also referred to as a ‘manic episode.’

Rapid Cycling: experiencing four or more manic or depressive episodes every year. Displayed by a small percentage of people with bipolar disorder. (Hockenbury, 523)

Cyclothymic Disorder: moderate manic and depressive behavior. (Coon, 559) Characterized by moderate but frequent mood swings that are not severe enough to qualify as bipolar disorder. (Hockenbury, 523)

Dysthymic Disorder: chronic, low-grade feelings of depression that produce subjective discomfort but do not seriously impair the ability to function. Characterized by many of the symptoms of depression, but the symptoms are less intense. (Hockenbury, 520-521) Moderate depression that persists for 2 years or more. (Coon, 559)

Depression: dejection, melancholy, low spirits. (Oxford) A mood disorder characterized by extreme and persistent feelings of “despondency,” worthlessness, and hopelessness, causing impaired emotional, cognitive, behavior, and physical function. (Hockenbury, 520) The association between mood disorders and creativity has been noted throughout history. Vincent Van Gogh, for example, suffered from depression during much of his adult life and committed suicide at the age of thirty-seven. Yet despite suffering from severe episodes of… depression and mania during the last two years of his life, he produced three hundred of his most important works during that time. These works have proven to be important in the history of modern art because Van Gogh used color not to convey the reality of nature but arbitrarily, to convey mood. (Kandel4, 81)

Major Depression: an extreme form of melancholy or sadness accompanied by a lack of energy and a lack of emotion. (Kandel4, 57) A mood disorder in which the person has suffered one or more intense episodes of depression. (Coon, 559) Distinguished from normal sadness or grief by its severity, pervasiveness, duration, and associated symptoms, including physiological, behavioral, and cognitive symptoms. (Kandel3, 1403) A state of despondency marked by feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness. (Coon, 513) Characterized by intense sadness. Depressed individuals often withdraw, sleep excessively, and lose pleasure in activities that were previously pleasurable. Sometimes severely depressed individuals become suicidal. (Bamford, 10/25/10) Usually begins in the late teens and early twenties. The average length of remission to major depression is about three months. People can function very well during periods of remission and the outcome is more benign than that of schizophrenia. As a person ages, the episodes of depression tend to last longer and the intervals of remission become shorter. (Kandel4, 59) More common in women than men. Formal diagnosis requires five of the following symptoms, including either depressed mood or loss of interest and pleasure, be displayed for two weeks or longer: sad, depressed mood; loss of interest and pleasure in usual activities; difficulties in sleeping; shift in activity level, becoming either lethargic or agitated; poor appetite and weight loss, or increased appetite and weight gain; loss of energy and great fatigue; negative "self-concept," feelings of worthlessness and guilt; difficulty in concentrating, slowed thinking and indecisiveness; recurrent thoughts of death or suicide. (Cardwell, 72-73) Often, these feelings lead to withdrawal from the company of others; sometimes they lead to thoughts of, or attempts at, suicide. At any give time about 5 percent of the world’s population suffers from major depression. Stressful life events— the death of a loved one, loss of a job, a major move, or rejection in a love relationship— can trigger depression. At the same time, depression can cause or exacerbate stress. Depression and stress appear to set off the same biochemical changes in the body: they prompt the adrenal gland to release “cortisol,” the body’s primary stress hormone. While the release of cortisol for a short period is beneficial, the log-term release in major depression and chronic stress is harmful. It causes the changes in appetite, sleep, and energy that depressed and highly stressed people experience. Excessive concentrations of cortisol destroy “synaptic connections” between neurons in the “hippocampus” (region important in memory storage) and neurons in the prefrontal cortex (region that regulates a person’s will to live and influences a person’s decision making). The breakdown of synaptic connections leads to the flattening of emotion and to impaired memory and concentration. (Kandel4, 61) Also referred to as ‘unipolar disorder’ ‘clinical depression’ and ‘major depressive disorder.’

Maternity Blues: a brief and relatively mild state of depression often experienced by mothers 2 or 3 days after giving birth. (Coon, 561)

Postpartum Depression: a mild to moderately severe depression that begins within 3 months following childbirth. Characterized by mood swings, despondency, feelings of inadequacy, and an inability to cope with the new baby. (Coon, 561)

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): a mood disorder in which episodes of depression typically occur during the fall and winter, when there is the least amount of sunlight, and subside during the spring and summer. More common among women and among people who live in the northern latitudes. (Hockenbury 522-523) Also referred to as ‘winter depression.’