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An Overview of Bipolar Depression

Bipolar depression, otherwise known as manic depression, is one of the leading mental disorders affecting people in Canada today. Some people believe that stress is the leading cause of bipolar disorder while some argue that this disorder runs in the family and people who have strong history of the bipolar disorder are bound to show signs and symptoms of the disorder at one point or another. Experts, however, are convinced that bipolar depression is caused by a lot of factors and heredity is but one of them. However, whatever may be the cause of the disorder, people who are suffering from bipolar depression often display common symptoms.

Most people who are afflicted with this disorder experience decreases in energy levels. In fact, some people who are suffering from bipolar depression may not have the energy to get up and go to work for several days for no apparent reasons at all. It has been shown that 62 to 76 percent of short-term disability cases in Canada were due to depression. Often times, these people run out of energy after a few hours of mild to moderate activities. Going out with friends or eating at their favorite restaurant may already feel like a heavy chore that they want to avoid as much as they can. No, they do not really mean to be anti-social; they simply do not have the energy to socialize after office hours that they would prefer to stay home and rest.

While lack of energy is considered as mild symptom of bipolar depression, chronic fatigue is another story. People who experience chronic fatigue and feel tired after sleeping for hours are in much more trouble than those who simply have low energy levels. You see, fatigue can graduate to lethargy. When a person becomes lethargic, he or she could sit on a chair for hours without doing anything. Yes, it sounds scary so it is very important that when a person starts showing signs and symptoms of bipolar depression, he or she should get help as early as possible.

Most people who are suffering from bipolar depression experience difficulty in sleeping at one point or another. Although insomnia may be caused by several factors like stress, noisy environment and the likes, some people who are suffering from bipolar depression may also suffer from this condition. Although insomnia may not immediately warrant a visit to the doctor, hyper insomnia is another story. Many experts suggest that a person suffers from hyper insomnia; he or she should immediately see a doctor.