Please beware of medical jargon in the following.

Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that is also referred to as manic depression. The names are interchangeable. It is characterized by extremes in mood, ranging from depression to mania. Many doctors believe that the illness can be hereditary. Symptoms vary widely from person to person.

The instances of depression and mania can vary in length and, for lack of a better word, strength.

Depression can include symptoms of anything from decreased energy and activity, to extreme helplessness and suicidal thoughts and behaviour. Mania can include symptoms ranging from mild irritability, to psychosis; homicidal tendencies are rare, but not unheard-of. Hypomania occurs frequently, which is a sudden onset of energy, irritability, and impulsive behaviour.

There is no definite trigger for bipolar disorder. Family history, stress, and drug and alcohol abuse can trigger a bout of depression (or mania), but often the trigger is not clear in any way.

Treatment for Bipolar Disorder consists of a combination of psychotherapy and medication. Possible medications include the following:

Lithium: Lithium Carbonate is used to jolt a patient out of their depressed or manic state. It enhances neural uptake of norepinephrine and serotonin levels in the brain, and this can cause lethargy. Lithium does not react negatively with many other drugs, although it does seem to produce slight potentation of Central Nervous System depressants. It is not given to those with kidney or liver problems. Some patients have noted that lithium can cause a complete lack of emotion.

Prozac: Fluoxetine hydrochloride is the most widely prescribed antidepressant in the United States and Canada. Please see the prozac node for possible side effects. Prozac is considered somewhat of a designer drug, but its positive effects should not be overlooked. Most patients note that Prozac (or any derivatives of it) takes the edge off the episode they are currently in. For example, a patient who takes Prozac may move from being extremely suicidal to somewhat anxious.

Zoloft: Sertraline is a wonderful drug, which has very little side effects, aside from the most common, which is diarrhea. The main reasons patients take this drug is because of its few side effects, and the fast results. Zoloft generally reduces the extremes of mania and depression. In rare cases, Zoloft can cause liver damage.

Bipolar disorder can stem from, or also carry along with it symptoms of Antisocial Personality Disorder, Seasonal Affective Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and even Attention Deficit Disorder.

Please see Demeter's writeup in the manic depression node for any other information I might not have included. Additionally, one could do worse than to have a look at Mitzi's excellent writeup Some tips on coping with bipolar disorder