bipolar depression ?

Q.What's bipolar depression? How is different from regular depression?

A.There is a continuous spectrum of "Bipolar Affective Disorder", abbreviated "BAD". I really think the Psychiatric Nomenclature Committee should revisit this. BAD Is are the classic manic-depressives, who alternate between periods of hypermania and profound depression. The periods are usually several months. BAD IIs become hypomanic - full of energy, quite productive - but they eventually have to pay back the debt of nervous energy. Most BAD IIs are rather proud of it; they have a lot of distinguished company. Again, the periods are quite long. At the extreme end of the spectrum is "cyclothymia". Cyclothymics exhibit very rapid mood shifts, sometimes several times in one day. There is a continuous spectrum of "Bipolar Affective Disorder", abbreviated "BAD". I really think the Psychiatric Nomenclature Committee should revisit this. BAD Is are the classic manic-depressives, who alternate between periods of hypermania and profound depression. The periods are usually several months. BAD IIs become hypomanic - full of energy, quite productive - but they eventually have to pay back the debt of nervous energy. Most BAD IIs are rather proud of it; they have a lot of distinguished company. Again, the periods are quite long. At the extreme end of the spectrum is "cyclothymia". Cyclothymics exhibit very rapid mood shifts, sometimes several times in one day. Bipolar depressions are considered clinical depressions, usually requiring the attention of a physician or psychiatrist. They are frequently described as the result of imbalances in brain chemistry, but that in itself is probably too simplistic. Others have described the cycling ups and downs in mood characteristic of "bipolar disorder". Not all clinical depressions are bipolar in nature. You might find better descriptions in a Google search. Regular "depression" is a very generic and can refer to clinical or short-term depressions from which one may recover with little more assistance than support groups or bed rest, or the passage of time. But it is also a term used to refer to the more serious depressions, when casual conversation precludes going into personal detail.

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