Bipolar disorder can occur at any age, although it often develops between the ages of 15 and 19 and rarely develops after 40. Men and women from all backgrounds are equally likely to develop bipolar disorder. The pattern of mood swings in bipolar disorder varies widely between people.
People with bipolar experience high and low moods—known as mania and depression—which differ from the typical ups-and-downs most people experience. The average age-of-onset is about 25, but it can occur in the teens, or more uncommonly, in childhood.
Typical Bipolar Disorder Age of Onset
The average age someone will receive a bipolar diagnosis is 25. Symptoms of bipolar I typically first appear between the ages of 12 and 24. Bipolar II symptoms tend to appear later, between the ages of 18-29.
High levels of stress. Changes in sleep patterns or lack of sleep. Using recreational drugs or alcohol. Seasonal changes – for example, some people are more likely to experience hypomania and mania in spring.
You usually develop bipolar disorder before you are 20. It can develop in later life, but it rarely develops after the age of 40. You could have symptoms of bipolar disorder for some time before a doctor diagnoses you.
Bipolar disorder often runs in families, and research suggests this is mostly explained by heredity—people with certain genes are more likely to develop bipolar disorder than others. Many genes are involved, and no one gene can cause the disorder.
Other classic symptoms of bipolar disorder include: Depression—Periods of depression usually emerge in early adolescence and are present before an episode of mania occurs. Changes in conversation—Teens with bipolar disorder may talk fast and quickly switch from topic to topic during manic episodes.
There are three stages of mania: hypomania, acute mania and delirious mania. Classifications of mania are mixed states, hypomania and associated disorders. Mania can occur in cycles over several weeks or months with no predictable triggers.
A person with bipolar disorder may be unaware they're in the manic phase. After the episode is over, they may be shocked at their behaviour. But at the time, they may believe other people are being negative or unhelpful. Some people with bipolar disorder have more frequent and severe episodes than others.
A “bipolar meltdown” is, much like “bipolar anger,” a very stigmatizing phrase, and not something that really exists. The phrase “bipolar meltdown” could refer to a bipolar person having a manic episode or being in a depressed state.
Bipolar disorder affects men and women equally, as well as all races, ethnic groups, and socioeconomic classes. Although men and women appear to be equally affected by bipolar disorder, rapid cycling is seen more often in women. Women also tend to experience more depressive and mixed state episodes than do men.
Childhood trauma
Some experts believe that experiencing a lot of emotional distress as a child can cause bipolar disorder to develop. This could be because childhood trauma and distress can have a big effect on your ability to manage your emotions.
A bipolar depression crash is usually the emotional fallout of a hypomanic or manic episode. It can also occur when something triggers bipolar depression or as a result of chemical or hormonal changes in the brain.
The illness usually starts with depression rather than mania, so even when mania is detected accurately, the onset of bipolar disorder may be missed.
One of the most objective symptoms to monitor is sleep needing less sleep is a huge red flag and often easier to see than the mood changes of mania. Routinely keeping track of how much sleep you are needing and getting can be valuable in tracking mood states impending, existing, and receding.
Bipolar disorder can cause a lack of empathy, but symptoms may also make it more challenging to focus on the feelings of others. While there is no medication to improve empathy, treating bipolar disorder can help. Introspection, guided emotional learning, and observing emotions in others may also help build empathy.
There is no clinical proof that bipolar disorder increases the frequency of lying, although people with the disorder, and their families, often report this tendency. Such a tendency may stem from features of mania such as: memory disturbances. rapid speech and thinking.
During manic episodes, people experience euphoria, high energy, and racing thoughts. They're easily distracted, unusually irritable, and prone to risky behavior like shopping sprees and reckless driving. They'll often find themselves talking quickly about many things at once and will go without sleeping.
Both a manic and a hypomanic episode include three or more of these symptoms: Abnormally upbeat, jumpy or wired. Increased activity, energy or agitation. Exaggerated sense of well-being and self-confidence (euphoria)
Bipolar disorder is frequently inherited, with genetic factors accounting for approximately 80% of the cause of the condition. Bipolar disorder is the most likely psychiatric disorder to be passed down from family. If one parent has bipolar disorder, there's a 10% chance that their child will develop the illness.
During a manic cycle of bipolar disorder, people with bipolar disorder may feel indefatigable, requiring little sleep and often forgoing food for days on end. Symptoms of mania may make a person feel they can do anything and cause them to engage in risk-taking behaviors entirely unlike their normal behaviors.