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Bipolar disorder affects both males and females almost equally but affects more females than males. Almost 1 to 3% of Americans suffer bipolar disorder. Mood swings are common phenomena in day to day life as long as it occurs due to valid reasons. Most of us have it but when it becomes excessive and occurs without reason it becomes a personality disorder known as bipolar disorder.

The other names for bipolar disorder are manic depression, manic depressive disorder and bipolar affective disorder. This is a serious mental disorder that causes changes in a person’s energy level, mood, and the ability to function. These mood changes can be dramatic that can move from feelings of extreme euphoria or irritability to depression, with periods of normal moods in between. Those who suffer this mental illness experience extreme mood changes of highs and lows. This is a treatable disease.

Bipolar disorder can be described as unpredictable mood swings from mania or hypomania to depression. The main symptoms of this disease are impulsive actions, judgment impairment, increased psycho motor activity, excessive social extroversion, decreased need for sleep, grandiose, and irritability. In severe cases patients may have delusions and paranoid thinking associated with schizophrenia. In some patients with bipolar II disorder, the recurrent depressions are followed by periods of mild activation and increased energy.

People who are genetically predisposed to bipolar disorder can go through many stressful occurrences each of which lowers the threshold at which mood swings occur. Eventually, the onset occurs and becomes recurrent. It is found that stress and brain abnormalities can interact to trigger bipolar disorder. It is believed that genetics plays a role here. Those who have a family history of this disease are more prone to get it at some stage in their lives. For many sufferers traumatic and abusive childhood experiences may be the cause. Recent unpleasant occurrences and unhappy relationship issues also may contribute to the onset of bipolar disorder. Abnormal brain structure and certain dysfunctional brain circuits may also cause this mental disorder.

Bipolar patients showed a melatonin-receptor hypersensitivity to light during sleep, resulting in a rapid drop in sleep time melatonin levels. But those bipolar patients who have recovered fully and drug free showed no hypersensitivity to light. Studies show that hypersensitivity of the sleep hormone melatonin receptors in the eye can be a sign of bipolar disorder.

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