What is the major difference between bipolar I and bipolar II?
My stepdaughter has been diagnosed with bipolar and by understanding it better, I hope to be more supportive.
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There is increasing recognition that BPII is not BPI light. It just is different. The main differences are:
BPI is characterized by big swings and periods of normalcy. Mania is the main difference. It can include psychosis (hallucinations and delusions), very disorganized thinking, very high energy, very poor decision-making, very high hypersexuality, and so forth. Mixed states (manic and depressed together) technically are only BPI, but there is growing recognition that those with BPII also experience these as well, just with a lower level of mania. Psychosis always results in a BPI diagnosis. The rest is a matter of degree.
BPII for many is characterized more by a chronic tendancy, hypomania and depression. Hypomania is mania w/o psychosis and some/all of the rest of the characteristics to a lesser degree. Depression is the same in both types, but can be characterized by more aggitation in BPII. Both BPI and II can have depresion psychosis. BPII also often includes low level symptoms even during periods of normalcy. Last, BPII can progress to BPI in that hypomania can swing further into mania. This is less apt to happen if treated early.
There is a grey area between both diagnoses that is dependent on the doctor. With medication, many live symptom free and normal lives. Also note, many with BPII have something that present much more like depression that what is described above.
~I have BPII
2 is not as bad,if one takes there meds like they should.
The major difference between bipolar I and II is the dominance of the mania vs the depression. Bipolar I involves manic episodes and bipolar II involves major depression. It’s possible that the presence of manic episodes puts a person automatically into bipolar one regardless of the presence of major depression. I did a paper on schizophrenia and the classifications within that diagnosis are cascading-like (for lack of a better descriptor), but I’m not a doctor so don’t take my word for it. There is also cyclothymia, a mild form of bipolar disorder. The links below explain it all fairly well. I like wikipedia, but it’s peer edited so I added the possibly more trustworthy site for the mayo clinic. I’ve always found their info useful and accurate.
BP1 – More manic then depressed
BP2 – More depressed than manic
That is the major difference. I have a website for bipolars, and have noticed that BP2′s are often into self mutilation (cutting), while this is not so common in BP1′s. The rage that BP1′s get is also not anywhere near as severe in BP2′s when they are up.
Meds are also different. If you give a BP1 an antidepressant, they really go through the roof. That happened to my wife when she started treatment.