Four Types of Bipolar Disorder

As a staff psychiatrist at the Lincoln Regional Center in Nebraska, Dr. Jasung Kim treats patients with a variety of mental illnesses. Experienced in incorporating transpersonal psychiatry into his practice, Dr. Jasung Kim has achieved good results with patients on the bipolar spectrum.

The spectrum of bipolar disorders spans four distinct but related illnesses. Each includes symptoms of both depression and mania, though the degree and balance of each varies with the disease type.

Bipolar I disorder, the most severe on the spectrum, features intense manic and depressive episodes. Manic episodes, which may last seven days or more, are often so severe that patients must be hospitalized immediately. These manic episodes can alternate with depressive episodes that last a minimum of 14 days, and some such episodes may also include symptoms of mania.

Bipolar II disorder presents with similar though less severe patterns. Depressive episodes alternate with hypomania, which causes heightened energy and mood but does not include the extreme energy levels and racing thought patterns that can make mania feel uncontrolled.

Cyclothymic disorder also features periods of hypomanic or depressive symptoms, though these periods do not occur with the duration or severity of Bipolar I or II disorder. Because symptoms of Cyclothymic disorder thus do not meet the criteria for Bipolar I or II, the condition requires its own category.

In some situations, a patient's symptoms do not match any of the three aforementioned categories. These patients' conditions fall into a category known as other specified or unspecified bipolar or related disorders, which incorporates those conditions characterized by simultaneous heightened and depressed mood symptoms. It also includes rapid-cycling conditions, which include four or more episodes of extreme mood swings over the course of 12 months.