The cause is currently unknown, except that there is a genetic component.

The symptoms are mood swings, usually occurring for no apparent reason. These swings may be mild or very severe, with the very severe ones sometimes including psychotic features. For detailed descriptions of symptoms and diagnostic criteria consult DSM-5. The most common forms of bipolar disorder are:

Bipolar I - at least one full manic episode at any time
Bipolar II - recurrent full depressive episodes but no full manic episodes
Cyclothymia - recurrent hypomanic and mild depressive episodes but no full manic or full depressive episodes

There are several other types including Bipolar NOS, meaning "not otherwise specified" and being a catchall diagnosis for any form of Bipolar not clearly matching any other category.

The treatment is partially preventative and partially by treating individual symptoms as they occur:

Mood stabilizers are given to stop and prevent any future mood swings
Antipsychotics are given when psychotic features are present to stop that symptom, they are also given when no psychotic features are present as they act as mild mood stabilizers
Sleeping pills may be given if needed for difficulty sleeping
Antianxiety medications may be given if needed if anxiety is a symptom
etc.

The experience varies with the individual. I have Bipolar I, my personal experience consists of 4 major episodes and several periods of minor mood instability:

1980, started with a 9 month manic phase that turned psychotic about halfway through, entire episode lasted about 14 months; untreated; when the episode was over there was a roughly 3 year period of mild mood instability which I dealt with entirely on my own and told no one about at the time
1990, started manic and quickly developed psychotic features, lasted a few months; involuntarily hospitalized, misdiagnosed as brief reactive psychosis, treated only with antipsychotics; when the episode was over there was a period of less than a year of mild mood instability
1996, started manic and instantly became psychotic, lasted about one month; involuntarily hospitalized, diagnosed Bipolar I, treated with the mood stabilizer Depakote, the antipsychotic Trilafon, and the sleeping pill Restoril; for the first time in my life I began to feel like I might be able to be a regular human being if I wanted to try it, I remained mildly hypomanic for about 3 years without any mood instability, however when this hypomania faded I lost further interest in trying any "new things"
2007, entirely depression with suicidal ideas (no attempt) near the end, lasted at least 6 months; I voluntarily hospitalized myself, treated with several medications but don't clearly recall which ones; when the episode was over it took a couple years to recover

In the first 3 episodes, where I had psychotic features, these consisted of hallucinatory voices. I know there were well over a half dozen different voices each with distinct personalities and different subjects they talked about, I eventually labeled 4 of these either because they occurred especially frequently or the circumstance in which they occurred was unusual: the screaming chorus, the single calm quiet relaxed voice, the command voice, and the radio announcer. Most of these hallucinatory voices sounded to me as if they came from above and a little bit to my right.

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