What is Bipolar 2 Disorder?

- Hey, everybody.

Today we're going to talk
about bipolar 2 disorder.

What is it and how does it
differ from bipolar 1 disorder?

Now, I know we have a
lot of new people here.

Welcome.

If you have a question or concern

and you're wondering if
I've talked about it before,

just hop into the search bar on YouTube,

put in my name, Kati Morton

and some keywords for your search

like anxiety, depression,
stress, et cetera.

I have over I think almost 1200 videos

so chances are I've
talked about it already.

Okay, now let's get
into bipolar 2 disorder.

In order to be diagnosed,

someone must meet the criteria
for a hypomanic episode

and a major depressive episode.

Now, a hypomanic episode is characterized

by having a distinct period of abnormally

and persistently elevated,
expansive or irritable mood

and an increased activity or energy

lasting at least four consecutive days

and present for most of
the day nearly every day.

While feeling like this,

you must also have three
or more of the following.

Number one, inflated
self-esteem or grandiosity.

Number two, decreased need for sleep.

Number three, more talkative than usual

or feel pressure to keep talking.

Number four, you
experience flight of ideas

or thoughts racing.

Number five, you're easily distracted.

Number six, have an increase
in goal-directed activity

and number seven, you have
an excessive involvement

in high risk activities.

If you meet that criteria,

remember, you must also meet the criteria

for a major depressive
episode and that criteria is

and you must have five or
more of the following symptoms

and they must have been present

during the same two week period

and represent a change
from previous functioning.

Also, at least one of those
five symptoms must be,

I know this is kinda confusing
bust just stick with me,

one of those five must be
either having a depressed mood

or a loss of interest or
pleasure in things, okay?

The other symptoms are, remember,

so we have to have one of
those and a total of five

so we have to look for
four of one of these.

Significant change in your weight.

Could be weight gain or weight loss.

Significant changes in your sleep,

either sleeping too much or not enough.

Feeling really restless

so much so that other people
in your life notice it

and have maybe mentioned it to you

or your healthcare provider.

Feeling fatigued

or having a loss of
interest nearly every day.

Also, experiencing
feelings of worthlessness

or excessive or inappropriate guilt.

Could also have diminished
ability to think or concentrate

or be really indecisive.

I don't know if you remember
that really old video I did

about the most untalked
about symptom of depression.

It was difficulty concentrating
and so that's it right there

and the final one is having
recurrent thoughts of death

or suicidal ideation.

Now, with all that diagnostic
stuff out of the way

and hopefully you've also
already watched my other video

about bipolar 1 disorder.

I'm sure you can see
that the only difference

between bipolar 1 and
bipolar 2 is a manic episode.

Those with bipolar 2 disorder

never experience a manic episode.

They experience a hypomanic one

and if they do experience mania,

that means they're misdiagnosed

and their diagnosis will be
changed to bipolar 1 disorder.

So bipolar 2 could turn into bipolar 1

but all that really means

is that they were misdiagnosed
from the beginning

and the mania really it's
possible hadn't shown itself yet.

Now, the difference between
a manic and hypomanic episode

is really the severity.

Those with hypomania do have
the same symptoms as mania.

They just don't occur to the
same degree and that's really,

it's kind of, it's a difficult
thing for me to parse out

and communicate to you

but just know that when
it comes to a diagnoses,

it's all about our level of functioning.

So someone with hypomania may
be irritable and feel terrible

and not need as much sleep

but they're still maybe able to function

a little bit in their life.

Someone with mania wouldn't be able to

and if you any of you
have experienced either,

please leave your thoughts on this

in the comments down below.

That way we can learn more
about the difference together.

Now, I know a lot of people
call bipolar 2 disorder

bipolar depression.

That's not the actual diagnosis name.

It's not what we call it

and I believe that's
because it could be confused

with the major depressive episode

that's experienced in
both bipolar disorders.

Both one and two have it.

So know that bipolar depression

is part of both bipolar disorders

and it's not a diagnosis itself.

At least it's not in the US.

I know other countries have
different diagnostic codes

and names but as far as I'm concerned

and I actually did a little research

to look into other
countries, I didn't see it

but if you disagree or you know different,

let us know down below.

Also, a lot of people wonder
how bipolar disorder looks

any different from quote
on quote normal people

and to be honest, those
with bipolar disorder

can live wonderful and fulfilling lives

and nothing about them
is really different.

However, if you interact with someone

who is in an episode like
depression, hypomania or mania,

they can act just like you would expect

someone in that state to act.

They can be depressed,
they can be irritable,

have pressured speech and
act in very irrational

and impulsive ways.

If someone in your life
is acting this way,

it's best to not address it

until they are out of that episode

and then simply mention that you notice

they haven't been themselves

and you're happy to
help them get some help

in any way you can.

The goal is to express our worry

and get them professional
help, not to judge them.

So try to keep that in mind

when you're preparing what you wanna say

because we wanna make sure
that they really hear us.

Also, keep in mind that in my experience

most people are more apt to
hear us and want to get help

when they're in a depressive episode

rather than a manic or hypomanic episode.

So if you're able to
catch them at that time,

it could be better and the
last thing I wanna talk about

is just that bipolar 2
disorder is often misdiagnosed

as major depressive disorder

usually because those with bipolar 2

go in to see a therapist or
doctor when they're depressed

and feeling down.

Makes sense, right, we feel
terrible, we wanna get help

then when they ask us about our symptoms,

we're only gonna be able to tell them

about what we're feeling right now.

So they think that all we
experience is depression

and they diagnose us as
such but the scary part

and I mentioned this in my bipolar 1 video

if we're given an SSRI or an SNRI

otherwise known as an antidepressant,

we can be pushed into mania or hypomania.

The medicine will actually
activate us and push us into that

and that can lead to
devastating consequences for us

because if you remember
hypomania and mania

can cause us to overshop, have risky sex

and do things that are
completely out of our character

and that's why it's so important

that we track our own
symptoms, write them down

and when you go for your
appointment, read them off,

tell them when this happened,

when you felt that way, how long it lasted

and it can also help to
bring a family member,

close friend or a spouse
to our appointment

'cause I'll be honest, they
often notice more than we do

and they can fill in any blanks for us.

They might know that a few weeks ago

we were feeling very
different than we are now

and we might have just forgot about it

and so doing this will ensure
like tracking our mood,

bringing someone in with
us, talking to the doctor,

taking our time to make sure

we tell them all the things we're feeling

will ensure that we get
properly diagnosed and treated.

I hope that helped answer any questions

that you have about bipolar
2 disorder and as always,

feel free to share your own thoughts

and experience down in the comments.

It's always best when we
learn about things together.

Thank you so much for watching
and I will see you next time.

Bye.

(calm music)