What is BiPolar Disorder? I hear it's a real illness.?

it is a mental illness
Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person's mood, energy, and ability to function. Different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through, the symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. They can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance, and even suicide. But there is good news: bipolar disorder can be treated, and people with this illness can lead full and productive lives

check out this site
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/Publicat/bipolar...

yes it is. Check out the source.

yea it is

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person's mood, energy, and ability to function. Different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through, the symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. They can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance, and even suicide. But there is good news: bipolar disorder can be treated, and people with this illness can lead full and productive lives.

Bipolar disorder causes dramatic mood swings鈥攆rom overly "high" and/or irritable to sad and hopeless, and then back again, often with periods of normal mood in between. Severe changes in energy and behavior go along with these changes in mood. The periods of highs and lows are called episodes of mania and depression.

See the link below for detailed information.

Yep, and it destroyed my marriage. It's also called Manic Depressive Disorder and often can be combined with addiction issues. Bipolar disorder is a diagnostic category describing a class of mood disorders where the person experiences states or episodes of depression and/or mania, hypomania, and/or mixed states. Left untreated, it is a severely disabling psychiatric condition. The difference between bipolar disorder and unipolar disorder (also called major depression) - for the purpose of this introduction - is that bipolar disorder involves "energized" or "activated" mood states in addition to depressed mood states. The duration and intensity of mood states varies widely among people with the illness. Fluctuating from one mood state to another is called "cycling" or having mood swings. Mood swings cause impairment not only in one's mood, but also in one's energy level, sleep pattern, activity level, social rhythms and thinking abilities. Many people become fully disabled - for significant periods of time - and during this time have great difficulty functioning.

Yes it is. Bipolar disorder is where someone has extreme moods that fluctuate between mania (or extreme happiness and excitability) and depression. The fluctations take a long time to occur... for example you might be depressed for a month or two, then become manic for a while. Some people experience more of one psychological state than the other.

My mom suffers from this...she does not take anything to help control her outbursts of depression so she suffers and everyone else around her. When I was a child, she was on several antidepressants adn it helps minimize her problems. She blows up and goes from one extreme to the other. I am pretty sure it is a chemical embalance.

Bi polar disorder refers to manic/depressive behavior, extreme highs and unimaginable lows . . . it's an imbalance in the brain and can be regulated with proper medication . . the problem is usually getting the patient to take this medicine on a regular basis, the minute he turns manic again, he stops . . .

yes it is a real disorder , a co worker had it that i worked with if they do not stay on their meds they can become suicidal / totally enraged to the point of killing another person.. pls chk out WEBMD for more details

i am bipolar so i will tell you how i feel when unmedicated. i get sad, happy, angry, grouchy all in the same hour. i am up and down. sometimes i can not sleep and sometimes i sleep too much. i do not seem to always relate to others well. my life is a roller coaster all the time.

Bipolar Disorder is a real illness.. it's also real b/c i have suffered from it just about all of my life... it's also called "manic depressive disorder" Trust me it not about just being depressed it about being so depressed you do not want to live the next day. or it about having so much energy (manic) that i can stay up for days at a time with no sleep. very high sex drive, excessive cleaning. I can go from that to wanting to die in a mater of days or hours. I talk real fast all time. I'm on 3 diffrent typs of medictions for treament, 1- mood stablilzer, 2-anti depressive and 3- something for the panic attacks often called "benzos"
I have been in the hosp 3 times, countless ER visits. and I see 3 diffrent doctors. 80 % of the time I cannot leave my home. I freak out in public places. and it real hard for me to do something so simple as driving a car, going shopping, talking to people.
Yes bipolar is real...

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person's mood, energy, and ability to function. Different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through, the symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. They can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance, and even suicide. But there is good news: bipolar disorder can be treated, and people with this illness can lead full and productive lives.

omg...my mom has this...it can be really bad.she can be really mean,self centered,and sometimes she has no feelings at all...spends money when she shouldnt.the thrill of shopping makes her fell good for a little while,then reality sets in and she wants to kill herself.