If you have Bipolar disorder then you know that it can have a significant impact on your daily life. What you may not know is that there are millions of Americans that deal with this disorder every day. Genetics could play a role in who gets this disorder. Most of the people that have it can point to one person that is a close relative that has the Bipolar disorder or that has depression, usually what is known as major depressive disorder. For most people Bipolar will develop in late adolescence or early adulthood. However, there have also been Bipolar kids and even older people that have it.

Men and women are both prone to this disorder. However, there are some gender differences that you need to be aware of. Women who have Bipolar will usually have more episodes of depression, while men are more prone to begin with manic episodes.

Even though you may be the one with Bipolar disease it can still affect your family and friends. It is important that you reach out to your loved ones and work together to build deep, meaningful bonds. This is critical to helping you reach your Bipolar treatment goals. If you don’t work with them then you will soon find that your relationships will start to suffer. So always get your friends and family to support you but also remember that you have to support them to because this will not be easy on any of you.

Depression and Bipolar go hand in hand with most people who have this illness. You need to be aware of what the depression symptoms are so that if you notice anything you can get to a doctor for some help. You don’t want to just ignore the symptoms and hope they will go away. They won’t and if you have Bipolar then they will get worse the longer they are untreated.

Your dramatic mood swings will not follow any set pattern. No matter what you think, depression doesn’t always follow mania. You can have the same mood episodes several times over a period of weeks, months and sometimes years before they will suddenly become the opposite episodes. Also, for each individual person the severity of the moods will differ. Depression will affect every aspect of your daily life from your feelings to your ability to function and everything in between. If you have depression and Bipolar you don’t want to let it go untreated because it will get worse.

When you experience a depressive episode it will involve five or more symptoms for most of the day, every day, for more than two weeks. Here are the depression symptoms that you need to know.

• Sad, irritiability and anxiousness.
• Losing your energy.
• You may feel guilt, hopelessness or worthlessness.
• Things that you once found enjoyable will not hold your interest anymore.
• Having difficulty concentrating on anything.
• Crying for no reason and not being able to stop.
• Can’t make decisions easily anymore.
• Always feeling tired and wanting to sleep.
• Some people will develop insomnia.
• Weight loss or weight gain due to a change in your appetite.
• Thoughts of death or suicide.
• Some people will attempt suicide.

When you let your depression go untreated the episodes will start to happen closer together and will be harder to treat. You may even find yourself switching into mania. However, with the right Bipolar treatment this can be prevented. Also, with the right Bipolar medication and Bipolar disorder therapy, it is possible for anyone to live a normal life and be happy and productive.