One of our experts explains what is meant when we talk about mixed bipolar disorder.
Bipolar affective disorder is a mental health condition that is characterized by having a cyclical affectation of mood; This means that the person’s mood fluctuates between two different extremes, in this case we are talking about a variation between episodes of depression (pole 1) and episodes of mania (pole 2).
However, on some occasions it is possible to identify mixed episodes that are defined by symptoms of mania and depression that occur at the same time or in rapid sequence without recovery between them.
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In a mixed bipolar disorder, a depressed mood may be evident, but at the same time there is also a high level of arousal in a person’s thoughts and actions., which can be seen more clearly in manic episodes. At these times, a high degree of anxiety and irritability is seen and, furthermore, there is no pleasant state that can exist during manic episodes.
Mixed episodes have some differences compared to a classic bipolar disorder:
Patients with mixed episodes may become more serious and in some cases this type of bipolarity has been considered a complication of the original disorder.
There is a likelihood of increased suicidal risk due to existing agitation in moments where the person is in a depressed mood, so they can act impulsively.
Another important difference refers to the treatment of this type of episodes. It is known that Pharmacological intervention is necessary in bipolar disorders; However, this should be different if the cases are mixed, since it does not have the same effectiveness as the medications usually used for classic bipolar disorder.