Bipolar II
There are three types of bipolar disorder, also called manic depression. Bipolar II is a psychological disorder that causes episodes of depression and hypomania.
Hypomania is a mild form of manic episodes. Hypomania can cause euphoria or irritability, restlessness, difficulty concentrating, and insomnia.
Bipolar II causes episodes of depression. The common symptoms of depression include suicidal thoughts, feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, insomnia or hypersomnia, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and a lower sex drive than usual.
Depression can cause hallucination and delusions related to the depressed feelings. Homicidal thoughts can develop if the person has a delusion that the world is entirely bad or painful and they need to kill a loved one to save them from the pain.
Bipolar II has been shown to have a hereditary component. People with family histories of depression, bipolar I, or bipolar II are at greater risk than the general population for developing bipolar disorder.
There is no cure for bipolar disorder. Severe episodes of bipolar II disorder can occur even with treatment though many people with bipolar disorder are able to manage the illness.
People can often learn to manage the symptoms and lead normal lives. For some people, the symptoms interfere with their relationships and employment. Some people may need to receive Social Security Disability for bipolar II.
Bipolar II is typically treated with both therapeutic treatment and medication. The typical medications used are a mood stabilizer like Lithium or Depakote, and an antidepressant. Care must be taken to not take too much of an antidepressant or it could cause a manic episode.
If a patient is given too much of an antidepressant and it causes an episode of hypomania, their condition is sometimes called bipolar III even though bipolar III is not an official diagnosis. When someone with bipolar II has their first manic episode, their diagnosis is changed to bipolar I.