What is Bipolar II Disorder? Mental Health with Kati Morton

Hey everybody, today I'm gonna talk with
you about Bipolar II disorder

and how it differs from Bipolar I.
So stay tuned.

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So I've heard from many, many, many, many
of you that you needed more information

about Bipolar disorder. And I heard you!
Don't worry. That's why I'm here right now

making this video about Bipolar II.

And I will talk about Bipolar II and how
it differs a little bit from Bipolar I

but don't worry, I will do another video
about Bipolar I so that you can see the

differences more clearly. But if you've
not checked out my kind of Bipolar

summary video that I created a while ago
- remember the whiteboard and I made

squiggles to kind of show you the
differences and tell you how Bipolar

disorder works? You're gonna wanna click
here and watch it first because it gives

you a good summary before we get kind of
more into the nitty-gritty of Bipolar II.

Without further ado, and as always I have
notes and my handy-dandy DSM. So, Bipolar

II: Now the way that I always think of
Bipolar II is that it's the 'depressive'

side of Bipolar disorder. You never have
mania... never. You have hypomania, and

this can be sometimes tricky for people to
feel the differences or understand the

differences, but that's why you have to
see a professional to get a proper

diagnosis. And so if you're worried that
you're struggling with this, before trying

to diagnose yourself I would please
encourage you, I can't encourage you

enough to see a professional to get a
proper diagnosis, put a treatment plan

together, and figure out what's the best
path for you. So, Bipolar II you don't

have mania, but you have hypomania. I'm
gonna read you from the DSM really quick

about what hypomania may look like.
It says that you will have an abnormally

and persistently elevated expansive or
irritable mood, you can feel really an

inflated sense of self esteem like "I'm
the best, I can do anything!" and you also

feel a decreased need for sleep.
And if you remember me talking about mania

in that other video, and I believe in
other FAQs, it sounds a lot like it right?

It's just a lower grade. And that's why
it's important to see a professional,

because they'll know exactly what you're
struggling with. It also says "flight of

ideas", like "I have so many things
flowing through my mind I can't even - I

just can't settle down! There's so many
things I wanna do and so many things I

feel like I wanna change in the world!"
And it can be a really motivated place for

a lot of people to live in, and I know a
lot of artists and people sometimes like

being hypomanic, because it's not as
intense as mania, but we get a lot done.

We have so many ideas! Also, really
distractable - as you can imagine if

you're thinking about all these different
things it's hard for you to stay on topic.

"Increased goal-directed activity" - like
I said you're really productive.

"Excessive involvement in activities that
have a high potential for painful

consequences" - and this is where we
usually end up in trouble, like we end up

in the hospital, or our family members or
friends may call 911 to get us help, is if

y'know we may be sleeping around, we may
be spending obscene amounts of money at

the mall, we may buy a new car, we may do
things that we shouldn't be doing because

it could have a really horrific
consequence on the end. And so that is

kind of how a hypomanic episode looks. It
can be very similar to mania, like I said,

but it has to last as least at least for
four consecutive days present most of the

day, nearly every day. And you must also
have a major depressive episode in order

to be diagnosed with Bipolar II disorder.
Now a major depressive episode has to last

at least two weeks, and to give you an
idea of what that may feel like, you have

to have five or more of the following
symptoms that have been present during the

same two-week period, just like I was
saying. Depressed mood most of the day,

diminished interests like we've talked
about before in the 'Six Signs of

Depression' anhedonia, not being
interested in pleasurable activities or

activities that used to be pleasurable to
you are no longer pleasurable, you may

lose weight, you may gain weight, you may
oversleep, you may not sleep enough, you

may feel fatigued and have body aches. And
a lot of those things will happen when we

have Bipolar II because we have to have
hypomania and a major depressive episode.

Those both have to occur to get the
diagnosis of Bipolar II and you can't have

mania. If you have mania, that makes you
Bipolar I. Okay? So that's what Bipolar II

disorder is. You can see why it's one of
the most misdiagnosed things in the psych

world - a lot of psychiatrists that I work
with and therapists that I work with feel

that a lot of people that are diagnosed
with depression may really have Bipolar II

or people that are diagnosed with Bipolar
II may actually just have Major Depressive

Disorder. And it can be really difficult
for us to properly diagnose. That's why I

cannot encourage you enough to seek out
professional help. Get a proper diagnosis,

get properly assessed, and then you can
look at your options for treatment. There

are a lot of options out there. Medication
as always is an option, therapy and

different treatment centers. There are a
lot of day programs you can go to to

better understand your illness, there are
group therapy things for you and your

family because a lot of people with
Bipolar disorder, if they have a hypomanic

or manic episode, can do some things that
are really detrimental to themselves and

to their relationships. So there are a lot
of group therapy things available in

hospital settings, in inpatient settings,
where you can help rebuild that

relationship and better understand your
own Bipolar disorder so that it can get

properly treated. And I hope that this
helps, if you like videos where I talk a

little bit more in-depth about a specific
diagnosis, give it a thumbs up and let me

know. And leave your comments below:
What has Bipolar II disorder looked like

for you? What have you done in treatment
to help you better overcome it? Because as

a community we can be so strong, we have
so many experiences and so much

information we can gleam from each other.
It's more than just me telling you how we

diagnose and what your treatment options
are, we can share our stories. So share

your stories, and I'll see you next time.