Bipolar Disorder, Bipolar Depression or manic depression is the up and down form of depression. The mood swing from happy or joyful to sad or depressed or the other way around. There are two types of bipolar disorder, simply known as bipolar disorder type I and type II.

Both types have similarities, the type II is a more extreme case and to truly determine if you suffer from bipolar disorder or any other type of depression you should consult your doctor. Bipolar disorder can be a serious illness if not properly treated. The more severe form of bipolar disorder can lead to life threatening thoughts.

Bipolar disorder can be treated or handled with the proper program. One of the biggest steps in determining the correct steps to take is to have a clear diagnoses of your problem. Here is a reference book that might help you get started.

Bipolar 101: A Practical Guide to Identifying Triggers, Managing Medications, Coping with Symptoms, and more

Once you have determined that you or a loved one has Bipolar disorder, then you must decide what is the best way to treat it.

Survival Strategies for Parenting the Child and Teen With Bipolar Disorder: Innovative Parenting and Counseling Techniques for Helping Children With Bipolar Dis

Overcoming Bipolar Disorder: A Comprehensive Workbook for Managing Your Symptoms and Achieving Your Life Goals
These are suggested guides to help you with bipolar disorder.

Anxiety is a normal response to stressful situations. This is like a warning system for the human body to let it know that there is a psychological problem that needs to be dealt with. The more stress the greater the anxiety tends to be and the harder it becomes to handle the tasks of everyday life. For most of us, the stress of every day life is relieved through get off work and relaxing and then getting the proper amount of sleep.

Possible signs of an Anxiety attack. Are you constantly tense, edgy or worried? Is there a sense of catastrophe or calamity waiting for you just moments away? When doing things do you dread that if not done correctly everything will fall apart and you will be held to responsible for it. Sometimes having irrational thoughts or fears that just will not go away. Do you suddenly have attacks of panic or fear for no reason or little understanding.

If any of these symptoms sound familiar to you. You may have experienced an Anxiety attack. The first thing you should do is consult your doctor about this possible condition. They can help you on a path to controlling anxiety attacks.

The Beck Depression Inventory is also know as the DBI-II (The DBI-II is the current version of the test). This simple 21 questionnaire was designed by Dr. Aaron Beck for individuals to do a self evaluation for depression. Designed to test people between the ages of 13 and up, the test is centered around the common signs of depression such as feelings of hopelessness, lack of worth, guilty and even a loss in sexual desire.

The test is used by professionals to help determine if a person is suffering from depression and how severe it might be. The BDI-II is just a step in the process to determine and help treat depression. There are 3 variations of the test, the BDI (published in 1961), the BDI-A1(first published as a revision to the BDI in 1978), the BDI-II (second revision of the BDI was first published in 1996).

The test is a quick check test and should not be used as an absolute. If you think you are suffering from depression you should seek the guidance of your doctor. Depression left unchecked or treated can cause severe problems in life. Stress can aggravate depression and lead to more severe problems caused from it.

The first step in the treatment of any problem is to properly identify the problem.

I have started this site to help get the word out to any one whom may not know the truth about depression. There are many people whom still believe that depression is something that a person can just shrug off and get over. IT IS NOT. Depression is real and can be very serious depending on what type of depression and life circumstances.

Depression comes in many different types and severity. Everyone suffers from a mild form of depression now and then. The difference is that for some of us, depression is hard to over come and can linger. Once you are in this depressive state it is easy to slip from a mild depression into a more severe condition. First you must identify if you are someone that suffers from recurring depressive symptoms or not. If you find that you are then you have taken that first step into helping yourself make a better life for yourself.

Bipolar Symptoms: The symptoms for bipolar disorder or manic depression are two fold, first suffering from one side of the disorder and then bouncing to the other side.
With the depression side you will see signs in a person of anxiety and a lack of enthusiasm in doing things that they once enjoyed or loved to do, they are constantly sad or say that they feel empty. They no longer seem to have pleasure in sex, and a lack of energy. You hear complaints of being tired constantly and/or suffering from fatigue
There are feelings of hopelessness or guilt for no apparent reason. When talking they seem to think themselves helpless or worthless.
They want to sleep all the time, or they have a loss of appetite and a dramatic change in their weight. There are some that suffer from insomnia or can’t seem to sleep in. When talking with them about life the have thoughts of death and suicide. Hearing complaints of chronic pain, headaches, digestive problems, and upset stomach that never seem to go away. (Depression is not the only cause for these symptoms, you should seek a doctors advice if you feel that you are severely depressed.)
On the other side of bipolar symptoms is the manic or happy side of the disorder. These bipolar symptoms may include, hyper and overly excited to do common things. They will take risks and spending money when they shouldn’t. Rapid talking and unfocused on a single topic (a sign of rapid thoughts.). There are impulse needs that become hard to control, such as your sexual desires and/or aggressive behavior. You find yourself easily distracted and have a hard time concentrating. You find that simple things are making you happier than they normally do and you have a exaggerated good outlook on life.