WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.047 Hey everybody, today I'm gonna talk with you about Bipolar II disorder 00:00:04.047 --> 00:00:08.519 and how it differs from Bipolar I. So stay tuned. 00:00:08.519 --> 00:00:16.289 ♪ (soft music playing) ♪ 00:00:16.321 --> 00:00:21.131 So I've heard from many, many, many, many of you that you needed more information 00:00:21.131 --> 00:00:26.034 about Bipolar disorder. And I heard you! Don't worry. That's why I'm here right now 00:00:26.034 --> 00:00:27.883 making this video about Bipolar II. 00:00:27.883 --> 00:00:32.421 And I will talk about Bipolar II and how it differs a little bit from Bipolar I 00:00:32.421 --> 00:00:37.169 but don't worry, I will do another video about Bipolar I so that you can see the 00:00:37.169 --> 00:00:41.495 differences more clearly. But if you've not checked out my kind of Bipolar 00:00:41.495 --> 00:00:45.413 summary video that I created a while ago - remember the whiteboard and I made 00:00:45.413 --> 00:00:49.289 squiggles to kind of show you the differences and tell you how Bipolar 00:00:49.289 --> 00:00:52.440 disorder works? You're gonna wanna click here and watch it first because it gives 00:00:52.440 --> 00:00:57.295 you a good summary before we get kind of more into the nitty-gritty of Bipolar II. 00:00:57.295 --> 00:01:03.521 Without further ado, and as always I have notes and my handy-dandy DSM. So, Bipolar 00:01:03.521 --> 00:01:08.944 II: Now the way that I always think of Bipolar II is that it's the 'depressive' 00:01:08.944 --> 00:01:17.979 side of Bipolar disorder. You never have mania... never. You have hypomania, and 00:01:17.979 --> 00:01:22.382 this can be sometimes tricky for people to feel the differences or understand the 00:01:22.382 --> 00:01:25.475 differences, but that's why you have to see a professional to get a proper 00:01:25.475 --> 00:01:29.231 diagnosis. And so if you're worried that you're struggling with this, before trying 00:01:29.231 --> 00:01:32.881 to diagnose yourself I would please encourage you, I can't encourage you 00:01:32.881 --> 00:01:36.381 enough to see a professional to get a proper diagnosis, put a treatment plan 00:01:36.381 --> 00:01:41.102 together, and figure out what's the best path for you. So, Bipolar II you don't 00:01:41.102 --> 00:01:44.581 have mania, but you have hypomania. I'm gonna read you from the DSM really quick 00:01:44.581 --> 00:01:50.621 about what hypomania may look like. It says that you will have an abnormally 00:01:50.621 --> 00:01:56.128 and persistently elevated expansive or irritable mood, you can feel really an 00:01:56.128 --> 00:01:59.987 inflated sense of self esteem like "I'm the best, I can do anything!" and you also 00:01:59.987 --> 00:02:03.516 feel a decreased need for sleep. And if you remember me talking about mania 00:02:03.516 --> 00:02:08.533 in that other video, and I believe in other FAQs, it sounds a lot like it right? 00:02:08.533 --> 00:02:12.261 It's just a lower grade. And that's why it's important to see a professional, 00:02:12.261 --> 00:02:17.156 because they'll know exactly what you're struggling with. It also says "flight of 00:02:17.156 --> 00:02:20.673 ideas", like "I have so many things flowing through my mind I can't even - I 00:02:20.673 --> 00:02:24.074 just can't settle down! There's so many things I wanna do and so many things I 00:02:24.074 --> 00:02:29.061 feel like I wanna change in the world!" And it can be a really motivated place for 00:02:29.061 --> 00:02:33.854 a lot of people to live in, and I know a lot of artists and people sometimes like 00:02:33.854 --> 00:02:39.279 being hypomanic, because it's not as intense as mania, but we get a lot done. 00:02:39.279 --> 00:02:43.842 We have so many ideas! Also, really distractable - as you can imagine if 00:02:43.842 --> 00:02:47.563 you're thinking about all these different things it's hard for you to stay on topic. 00:02:47.563 --> 00:02:51.445 "Increased goal-directed activity" - like I said you're really productive. 00:02:51.445 --> 00:02:55.829 "Excessive involvement in activities that have a high potential for painful 00:02:55.829 --> 00:02:59.983 consequences" - and this is where we usually end up in trouble, like we end up 00:02:59.983 --> 00:03:05.848 in the hospital, or our family members or friends may call 911 to get us help, is if 00:03:05.848 --> 00:03:10.441 y'know we may be sleeping around, we may be spending obscene amounts of money at 00:03:10.441 --> 00:03:15.287 the mall, we may buy a new car, we may do things that we shouldn't be doing because 00:03:15.287 --> 00:03:19.754 it could have a really horrific consequence on the end. And so that is 00:03:19.754 --> 00:03:24.724 kind of how a hypomanic episode looks. It can be very similar to mania, like I said, 00:03:24.724 --> 00:03:29.894 but it has to last as least at least for four consecutive days present most of the 00:03:29.894 --> 00:03:39.802 day, nearly every day. And you must also have a major depressive episode in order 00:03:39.802 --> 00:03:44.094 to be diagnosed with Bipolar II disorder. Now a major depressive episode has to last 00:03:44.094 --> 00:03:49.114 at least two weeks, and to give you an idea of what that may feel like, you have 00:03:49.114 --> 00:03:52.074 to have five or more of the following symptoms that have been present during the 00:03:52.074 --> 00:03:55.926 same two-week period, just like I was saying. Depressed mood most of the day, 00:03:55.926 --> 00:03:59.361 diminished interests like we've talked about before in the 'Six Signs of 00:03:59.361 --> 00:04:03.322 Depression' anhedonia, not being interested in pleasurable activities or 00:04:03.322 --> 00:04:07.722 activities that used to be pleasurable to you are no longer pleasurable, you may 00:04:07.722 --> 00:04:12.195 lose weight, you may gain weight, you may oversleep, you may not sleep enough, you 00:04:12.195 --> 00:04:19.280 may feel fatigued and have body aches. And a lot of those things will happen when we 00:04:19.280 --> 00:04:25.037 have Bipolar II because we have to have hypomania and a major depressive episode. 00:04:25.037 --> 00:04:28.389 Those both have to occur to get the diagnosis of Bipolar II and you can't have 00:04:28.389 --> 00:04:35.741 mania. If you have mania, that makes you Bipolar I. Okay? So that's what Bipolar II 00:04:35.741 --> 00:04:41.180 disorder is. You can see why it's one of the most misdiagnosed things in the psych 00:04:41.180 --> 00:04:45.313 world - a lot of psychiatrists that I work with and therapists that I work with feel 00:04:45.313 --> 00:04:49.427 that a lot of people that are diagnosed with depression may really have Bipolar II 00:04:49.427 --> 00:04:52.858 or people that are diagnosed with Bipolar II may actually just have Major Depressive 00:04:52.858 --> 00:04:57.718 Disorder. And it can be really difficult for us to properly diagnose. That's why I 00:04:57.718 --> 00:05:02.141 cannot encourage you enough to seek out professional help. Get a proper diagnosis, 00:05:02.141 --> 00:05:06.388 get properly assessed, and then you can look at your options for treatment. There 00:05:06.388 --> 00:05:10.845 are a lot of options out there. Medication as always is an option, therapy and 00:05:10.845 --> 00:05:15.108 different treatment centers. There are a lot of day programs you can go to to 00:05:15.108 --> 00:05:18.507 better understand your illness, there are group therapy things for you and your 00:05:18.507 --> 00:05:22.734 family because a lot of people with Bipolar disorder, if they have a hypomanic 00:05:22.734 --> 00:05:27.249 or manic episode, can do some things that are really detrimental to themselves and 00:05:27.249 --> 00:05:31.226 to their relationships. So there are a lot of group therapy things available in 00:05:31.226 --> 00:05:34.661 hospital settings, in inpatient settings, where you can help rebuild that 00:05:34.661 --> 00:05:38.392 relationship and better understand your own Bipolar disorder so that it can get 00:05:38.392 --> 00:05:42.459 properly treated. And I hope that this helps, if you like videos where I talk a 00:05:42.459 --> 00:05:46.481 little bit more in-depth about a specific diagnosis, give it a thumbs up and let me 00:05:46.481 --> 00:05:50.041 know. And leave your comments below: What has Bipolar II disorder looked like 00:05:50.041 --> 00:05:54.461 for you? What have you done in treatment to help you better overcome it? Because as 00:05:54.461 --> 00:05:58.354 a community we can be so strong, we have so many experiences and so much 00:05:58.354 --> 00:06:02.505 information we can gleam from each other. It's more than just me telling you how we 00:06:02.505 --> 00:06:06.441 diagnose and what your treatment options are, we can share our stories. So share 00:06:06.441 --> 00:06:09.017 your stories, and I'll see you next time.