tuations. In contrast to normal depression, severe depression can impair a persons ability to function in everyday situations. Someone with bipolar disorder will usually demonstrate several of the following symptoms:5 h Persistent sad moodh Loss of interest in pleasurable activitiesh Change in appetiteh Difficulty sleepingh Loss of energyh Feelings of worthlessnessh Difficulty concentratingh Suicidal thoughts Mixed Episode. When in the mixed episode stage of bipolar disorder, a person experiences symptoms of both mania and depression at the same time. This stage is the most disabling because the depressed mood accompanies manic activities.Figure 1 These are tomography scans of the brain of a person with bipolar disorder. Blue and green show low levels of brain activity: red, orange, and yellow show high levels of brain activity. The top row of Figure 1 shows depression, the middle row shows mania, and the bottom row shows the change back to depression3.What Are the Factors of Bipolar Disorder? Everyone goes through periods of depression, but most do not fall into severe depression. Psychologists believe that bipolar disorder is caused by biological and psychological factors, and are triggered by stressful events in life. Biological Factors. Bipolar disorder, as well as other depression illnesses, can be passed down. Hormone imbalance may cause bipolar disorder. An abnormally high lever of hydrocortisone, a hormone secreted by the adrenal gland to deal with stress, can influence the susceptibility to bipolar disorder3. Deficiencies in folic acid or the B vitamins also contribute to the cause of bipolar disorder3. Psychological Factors. There are several psychological factors that influence bipolar disorder. Sigmund Freud believed that "a person's unconscious anger over loss weakens the ego, resulting in self-hate and self-destructive behavior3". This loss could be real, such as a death, or symbolic, ...
