Depressive and Bipolar Disorders

Hello, and welcome back to Module 2,

mood disorders. This is a Lecture 2,

depressive and bipolar disorders. In the first lecture, we learned about

the core experiences of mood disorders, depressive symptoms, and manic symptoms. If a person only struggles

with symptoms of depression, they are described as having

a unipolar depressive disorder. If they struggle with both

symptoms of depression and mania, they are described as

having a bipolar disorder. However, there are several different

designations of mood disorders within each of these categories. Let's take a few minutes to consider them. When a person struggles with

multiple severe symptoms of depression that are present for

at least two weeks, they are said to be struggling

with major depressive disorder. However, if a person struggles with

less intense experiences of depression that are continuously present for

at least two years, they are experiencing persistent depressive disorder,

which is also referred to as dysthymia. Persistent depressive disorder tends to be

less debilitating to an individual than major depressive disorder. Although it nonetheless

has a profound impact on a person's ability to have a satisfying

life than meaningful relationships. Seasonal affective disorder or SAD, occurs when a person experiences all

the symptoms of major depressive disorder. But they occur only at

certain times of the year, most often from late fall until

early in spring in cold climates. Most of the time, people with SAD tend to

sleep too much rather than too little. And they tend to gain

weight rather than lose it. In the US, research indicates that

8% of adults experience severe depressive symptoms in any given year. With an additional 5% experiencing

more mild depressive symptoms. Research also tells us that about one in

five adults will experience an episode of depression at some

point in their lifetime. Similar rates have been reported

in many European countries. Globally, depression has been reported

throughout the world, although availability of research data varies

considerably from country to country. We do know that people all over

the world experience depression. The way a person experiences depression or

in other words, the symptoms they experience and how they describe them can vary a great

deal across continents and cultures. There is strong research

evidence that depression impacts women twice as

often as it impacts men. Over the course of a lifetime,

about one in four women will experience depression as opposed to

about one in ten men. Depression can occur at any time of life,

including childhood into old age. However, it is most commonly found

in adults under 65 years of age. The vast majority of people with

depression will recover and return to their baseline moods within six

months after the onset of their symptoms. Even if they do not receive treatment. It is very common for

people to experience more than one or recurrent episodes of depression. Now let us turn to a more in depth

discussion of bipolar disorder. A person with a bipolar disorder

experiences episodes of mania, as well as episodes of depression. We refer to two forms of bipolar disorder, bipolar I disorder and

bipolar II disorder. Both forms include episodes of depression. In bipolar I disorder, people experience

full blown severe manic episodes. In bipolar II disorder, people experience less severe manic

episodes referred to as hypomania. A person with hypomania generally

is better able to function than a person with mania. They may still be able to go to work and

attend to their relationships, although they have low or

no insight into what is happening and how other people are noticing and

reacting to their symptoms. Cyclothymic disorder refers to a

manifestation of bipolar illness, in which a person rapidly shifts from depressive

mood states to manic mood states. Although their symptoms never

become serious enough that they're diagnosed with bipolar I or

bipolar II disorder. A person with cyclothymic disorder

generally spends all of their time in either a mild depressive mood state or

a mild manic mood state. They rarely have ever experienced

their mood as neutral. They may come across to

other people as being moody. And while their mood symptoms never

become intense enough to cause serious impairment to their functioning, these

rapidly shifting moods may have a negative impact on their lives and

their relationships. Now let us turn to a discussion of

the prevalence of bipolar disorders. Bipolar disorders are much less

common worldwide than unipolar depressive disorders. Global data indicate that any

given time somewhere between 1% to 2.6% of the world's population

is experiencing a bipolar disorder. Lifetime occurrence is

estimated at about 4%. Unlike unipolar depression, bipolar I and bipolar II disorders are found

equally in men and women. Age of onset for bipolar disorders tends

to be between the ages of 15 and 44. If left untreated, the depressive and

manic states of a bipolar disorder will remit on their own and

continue to recur over time. There is no evidence that bipolar disorder

ever disappears completely without treatment.