Is it possible for a person that is bipolar to only change moods every once in a while And can that person never have to be in the manic phase?

Answer 1

All right first things first you have to have experienced a depressive and a manic episode to be diagnosed with Bipolar I. Bipolar II on the other hand is when you have experienced a depressive episode but not a full blown manic episode. Now what constitutes a manic episode is a little more complicated than you think. The symptoms of mania that most people are familiar with are extreme euphoria, impulsive decision making, no regard to consequences, feelings of being invincible like superman or something, high activity and like an increase in motor activity. Well mania and bipolar for that matter are now looked at on a spectrum. There are varying degrees. There is also hypomania which is a little bit less severe but still not good. You have a few of the same symptoms as full blown mania but its not quite as obvious. These people can go on crazy shopping sprees when money is tight, theres a lot of impulsive actions with little concern for consequences. Or maybe your not euphoric and happy but irritable and just plain mean. Sounds and lights can cause extreme agitation! You have little patience, racing thoughts or worse racing irrational thoughts. Mania can be a time of high productivity for some and they like the feeling but for some mania and hypomania can be just horrible! Then to even further complicate things there is also a little something called a mixed episode which have symptoms of both depression and mania! You only need to of had experienced one episode of each, depression and mania so yeah the different episodes usually are every once in a while its not a mood changes from one minute to the next kind of thing. We all have our ups and downs but what makes Bipolar disorder different from normal life's ups and downs is it interfering with your functioning. When your job, school, relationships and so on are affected by your ups and downs is when it becomes a disorder. Bipolar is not curable but very treatable and most go on to live normal productive lives whilst staying on top of their treatment!