RAPID CYCLING BIPOLAR DISORDER Bipolar Disorder, also known as manic depression, is a medical illness that affects how a person acts, thinks, and feels. It is identified by periodic episodes of mania (highs) and depression (lows), usually with periods of normal mood in between these episodes. An affected person's mood can range from an excessive high to a profound hopelessness. The mood episodes can last for a few days or for as long as several …showed first 75 words of 1491 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1491 total…this 3.5 million are rapid cycling. Fifteen percent of these rapid-cycling patients commit suicide and another fifty-five percent will attempt it. The high percentage of suicide is most often due to mistakes in diagnosing. The symptoms of mania are often close to those of metabolic disorders and drug abuse, and the symptoms of hypomania are often looked over altogether. These mistakes cause the patients to be prescribed inappropriate medications that often worsen the symptoms of depression.