1. Bipolar disorders

2. Bipolar disorder is the name used to describe a set of ‘mood swing’ conditions, where exaggerated swings of mood go from one extreme to the other.
People with this illness often describe it like living on a rollercoaster because they experience alternating episodes of high moods followed by low moods.
There is Type 1 and Type 2; Type 1 which is more extreme used to be called 'manic depression’.
The high moods or highs are called mania (in Type 1) or hypomania (which literally means 'less than mania’ in Type 2), & the low mood is called bipolar depression (which is usually either melancholic or psychotic depression).

3. Typical behaviours exhibited by someone experiencing a bipolar high include:
Acting wired & overly energised
Recklessly & excessively spending money 

4. Losing inhibitions, not keeping to social norms & graces 

5. Generally being over the top
being loud & talking over others
thinking everyone is attractive
putting spiritual meaning into things that wouldn’t normally
feeling like they can solve the world’s problems overnight. But what goes up 

6. ...must come down: for every big high, a big low will follow.
And the lows can be very painful & difficult to deal with.
People with bipolar disorder may anecdotally say that they really enjoy the highs because they get so much stuff done and they can experience euphoric feelings but it can also cause feelings of high anxiety.

7. It is interesting to note that there is a high correlation between creativity & bipolar disorder. You probably recognise the people on this slide – all of which have experienced bipolar disorder.
Top row: Stephen Fry, Ben Stiller, Catherine Zeta-Jones
Middle row: Elvis Presley, Jim Carrey
Bottom row: Amy Winehouse, Robbie Williams, Russell Brand.