Mental Health Basics


What Is the Course of Bipolar Disorder?


Episodes of mania and depression typically recur across the life span.
Between episodes, most people with bipolar disorder are free of
symptoms, but as many as one-third of people have some residual
symptoms. A small percentage of people experience chronic unremitting
symptoms despite treatment.

The classic form of the illness, which involves recurrent episodes of
mania and depression, is called bipolar I disorder. Some people,
however, never develop severe mania but instead experience milder
episodes of hypomania that alternate with depression; this form of the
illness is called bipolar II disorder. When four or more episodes of
illness occur within a 12-month period, a person is said to have
rapid-cycling bipolar disorder. Some people experience multiple episodes
within a single week, or even within a single day. Rapid cycling tends
to develop later in the course of illness and is more common among women
than among men.

People with bipolar disorder can lead healthy and productive lives when
the illness is effectively treated. Without treatment, however, the
natural course of bipolar disorder tends to worsen. Over time a person
may suffer more frequent (more rapid-cycling) and more severe manic and
depressive episodes than those experienced when the illness first
appeared. But in most cases, proper treatment can help reduce the
frequency and severity of episodes and can help people with bipolar
disorder maintain good quality of life.



















[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]