If you’re like a lot of people, you may not fully understand the difference between depression and bipolar depression, which is usually called bipolar disorder.
Whether you suspect you may be living with one of these conditions or someone you care about lives with it, it’s important to understand the difference. Understanding will enable you to speak the same language in a way, because you will have a better idea of what’s going on.
Let’s take a look.
Difference Between Depression and Bipolar Depression
To understand the difference between depression and bipolar depression, you need only look back to what bipolar depression used to be called – manic depression.
It was known as manic depression due to the manic episodes people living with this mental illness often experienced. However, the name of the illness was changed to bipolar disorder in effort to eliminate the confusion around the two different conditions.
Sometimes people are confused about the differences between clinical depression and manic depression. And it’s no wonder — they both have the word “depression” in their names. That’s one of the reason’s manic depression’s clinical name changed to “bipolar disorder” many years ago, to more clearly distinguish it from regular depression.
The two are constantly being confused with one another. Which is why manic depression is now classified as bipolar disorder. While both share a form of clinical depression, bipolar or manic depression goes further than that by introducing mania into the picture.
If you live with depression, you may feel a sense of worthlessness, lethargic, and uninterested in activities you once enjoyed. These symptoms can also be found in those suffering from bipolar disorder. The added symptoms of bipolar extend to feeling of being overly happy with drastic dips into sadness. In addition, you may also feel irritable, aggressive, and willing to take risks you might not always be inclined to take.
Visit Psych Central to learn more about the differences between bipolar disorder and manic depression.