Manic Depression Symptoms – Blue Skies Dark Feelings

The warning signs and symptoms of the serious disease Manic Depression are wide spread. This disorder can also be known as manic depressive disorder. The disease is often confused with bipolar disorder and other mental disorders. People that suffer from manic depression are not schizophrenics. Patients either suffer from pleasant feelings or feelings of hopelessness and dread. This disorder affects the cognitive thought processes, and can cause delusion, and abnormal behaviour. It can be difficult to diagnose and often requires the person to communicate their feelings and thoughts.

Many health care professionals as well family members have difficulty spotting the dysfunction. The patient may appear their normal self, yet in their mind they might be extremely sad or feeling extremely pleasant and high as a kite. The behaviour’s and feelings can quickly change from one extreme to the next.

There are numerous symptom’s affiliated with the manic depression disorder. The symptoms or, signs differ from the high end state of the disease when compared to the low end sad state of the disease.

People who are in the high end may suffer some and in the worse cases all of the following symptoms.

• Feelings of Euphoria, extreme happiness
• High level of agitation
• Unable to focus on a task or concentrate
• Excessive talking and rambling on about various subjects
• Feeling hyper or a high level of energy.
• Various changes in behaviour including unusual judgement, aggressiveness, mixed emotions, increase in libido
• Feelings of grandeur or invincibility, high risk behaviour
• Denial and abuse of alcohol or illegal drug use
• Lack of sleep and bouts of extreme irritableness
• People who are in the low end may suffer some and in the worse cases all of the following symptoms.
• Extreme sadness that will not go away
• Feelings if hopelessness and extreme anxiety
• May become forgetful
• Excessive sleeping yet always feeling tired
• Feelings of guilt
• Restless and always on edge
• Increase in appetite constantly hungry, excessive eating which can result in over eating and increase weight gain
• Insomnia
• High level of irritability and feelings of worthlessness
• Ghost pains throughout the body, excessive headaches,
• Feelings of suicide.

As mentioned earlier in the article manic depression can be a difficult disorder to diagnose. Often the person may hallucinate, or enter periods of delusion and grandeur almost to the point where they think they are living in a fantasy world. Psychosis such as this is one reason the disease is often confused or misdiagnosed as schizophrenia.

When a person suffers from manic depression often they are unaware that there is anything wrong with them. It usually takes a person that is close to them to realize there is a problem. Typically a parent, sibling, friend or spouse will notice the change in behaviour and high end low end feelings. It is important to communicate with the person and express your concerns.

Manic depression like many psychiatric disorders can be difficult to treat. Often the person refuses to admit to having a dysfunction and will refuse treatment. Or they will begin treatment and once feeling well will quit the medication or stop seeing their health care professional.