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Understanding your mental health

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorders involve episodes of depression and periods of elevated or unusually irritable mood with changes in energy and activity. These episodes are different from ordinary shifts in mood. Understanding the full history is essential to making an informed diagnosis and treatment plan.

Recognizing the experience

Symptoms you may notice

Experiences vary from person to person. These symptoms can have different causes and are not a diagnostic checklist.

  • Episodes of unusually elevated or irritable mood and increased energy or activity
  • Needing much less sleep without feeling tired, along with racing thoughts or faster speech
  • Uncharacteristically impulsive decisions, overspending, or other risky behavior
  • Periods of low mood, loss of interest, low energy, or hopelessness

How daily life can be affected

Mood episodes can disrupt sleep, relationships, work, judgment, and financial or physical safety. Changes may initially feel productive or go unnoticed by the person experiencing them. A trusted support person may provide helpful perspective when you consent to their involvement.

Looking at the whole picture

What an evaluation considers

Assessment is a conversation about your history, your health, and what matters to you. Your provider may:

  1. Build a timeline of changes in mood, energy, sleep, and functioning, including episode duration and severity.
  2. Review family history, previous diagnoses and medications, substance use, and any hospitalizations or psychotic symptoms.
  3. Assess current safety and determine whether outpatient care is appropriate or a more urgent or intensive level of care is needed.

Support, shaped around you

Care may include appropriate mood-stabilizing treatment, ongoing monitoring, psychotherapy referral, and support for consistent sleep and routines. Early warning signs and a response plan are discussed together. Medication choices require careful assessment and should not be changed without your treating clinician.

Explore Medication Management

Know when to seek help

Warning signs that need attention

Little or no sleep with escalating energy, severe agitation, dangerous behavior, paranoia, hallucinations, or suicidal thinking requires urgent assessment. If there is immediate danger, call 911 or go to an emergency department rather than waiting for an outpatient appointment.

Do not wait for a routine appointment in a crisis.
In the U.S., call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department for immediate danger or a medical emergency. For suicidal thoughts or a mental health crisis, call or text 988. Marenova Wellness is not an emergency or crisis service.

Further reading from a public health resource

National Institute of Mental Health: Bipolar Disorder (opens in a new tab)

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For your understanding, not a diagnosis
This information is provided for educational purposes only and does not replace an individualized psychiatric evaluation, diagnosis, or professional treatment plan.