Depression

Ø      Similar & Differing Characteristics

Ø      How Misdiagnosis Happens

Ø      Additional Depression Articles

Depression vs. Bipolar Disorder?

Depression can make you feel completely alone. But that’s far from true. Right now, about 19 million American adults are coping with depression. Fortunately, depression is a very treatable illness. About 80% of people who get treatment for depression say that it has helped them. Remember, depression is a medical condition, like diabetes or high blood pressure. And like those other conditions, depression needs to be treated, not ignored.

Major depression and bipolar disorder are two different conditions that require different treatments.  However, because they have common symptoms, the depressive ones, bipolar disorder is frequently misdiagnosed as depression.  Sometimes it can take up to 10 years for bipolar disorder to be accurately diagnosed and treated.

In general, depression involves overwhelming feelings of sadness, worthlessness, and hopelessness. Bipolar disorder involves episodes of depression and episodes of mania. Manic episodes are periods of elated mood, which can include racing thoughts, extreme irritability or reckless behavior.

Learning how these illnesses are alike and different may help you and your doctor better understand your symptoms.

Similar Characteristics

Bipolar disorder and depression are types of mental illness that can have a major impact on work, school, family, and social life. Both affect a lot of people. Based on a recent study, more than three percent of U.S. adults have bipolar disorder, and about 9.5 percent of people suffer from a depressive illness in any given year.

Depression and depressive episodes of bipolar disorder have common symptoms including:

• Sadness
• Excessive crying
• Loss of pleasure
• Abnormal sleep
• Low energy
• Restlessness
• Difficulty concentrating
• Irritability
• Loss of appetite or overeating
• Feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness
• Ongoing physical problems not caused by physical illness or injury (headaches, digestive problems, pain)
• Thoughts of death or suicide

Generally both illnesses start between ages 15 and 30. SEROQUEL is not approved for patients under the age of 18.  People who have a family history of depression or bipolar disorder are at higher risk of having the same illness.

Differing Characteristics

Bipolar disorder involves periods of depression, but unlike depression it also involves periods of mania. People with depression do not have mania. Mania is when a person experiences an elevated, expansive, or irritable mood that lasts one week or longer.

There also is a difference in how these two illnesses affect genders. Women are twice as likely as men to experience depression whereas men and women get bipolar disorder about equally.

How Misdiagnosis can Happen

Bipolar disorder is often misdiagnosed as depression. When you consider that bipolar disorder involves depressive symptoms at certain times during the illness, it's easy to understand how that could lead to misdiagnosis:

• Lack of understanding. Some people may not recognize manic episodes – and, therefore, don't see them as problems they should discuss with their doctors.
• Current depression. Some people don't seek a doctor's help until they are deep in a depressive episode and are entirely focused on those symptoms.
• Poor public awareness. Although many people are familiar with the signs of depression, there is a low level of public awareness about the signs of bipolar disorder, especially the manic symptoms. Therefore, people may not identify these symptoms in themselves or a loved one.

Learning more about the two sides of bipolar disorder may help you understand symptoms you may have experienced.

Other Depression Related Articles:

• Depression Recovery: An Overview
• A Depression Recovery Lifestyle
• Healing Friendships During Depression Recovery
• Food and Your Mood
• Importance of Diet During Recovery from Depression