Introduction

Most of us have ups and downs in our moods. But if you have bipolar disorder, your mood can dramatically swing from very high to very low.

These changes, and the extreme moods themselves, get in the way of your daily life. But between the lows and the highs, you may have weeks or months of being in a normal, steady mood.

Bipolar disorder can make life very hard for you, and your friends and family. There's no cure that will completely get rid of bipolar disorder, but treatment can help you control extreme moods and let you get on with your life.

We've brought together the best research about bipolar disorder and weighed up the evidence about how to treat it. You can use our information to talk to your doctor and decide which treatments are best for you.

If you have bipolar disorder, your mood can dramatically swing from very high to very low. There is no complete cure, but there are lots of treatments that can help control your moods.

Most people have ups and downs in their moods: days when they feel good and others when they feel down. If you have bipolar disorder, your mood swings much further than other people's.

• Sometimes, you might feel very 'high' and have lots of energy. That is called mania.

• Other times you might feel very low. That is called bipolar depression.

Both mania and bipolar depression can last for weeks at a time. They get in the way of your daily life. They make it hard to study and work. And, they can put a big strain on your relationships with your family, friends, and partners.

Between the mania and the depression, you may have weeks, months, or even years when you're in a normal, stable mood.

Bipolar disorder is also called manic depression and bipolar affective disorder.

Key points for people with bipolar disorder

• Bipolar disorder is usually something you have for a long time (it is a long-term, or chronic, problem).

• With the right treatment, most people can control their mood swings.

• The time between mood swings varies a lot from person to person.

• How bad the mood swings are also varies a lot between people. They can be mild or severe.

• It often takes several years for your doctors or psychiatrists to realise you have bipolar disorder. And it can take time for them to work out the best treatment for you.

• If you have bipolar disorder, you will probably need to take drugs for the rest of your life to keep your moods under control.

How your brain works

Your brain is made up of lots of nerve cells. These cells send messages to each other using chemicals. These chemicals are called neurotransmitters. There are several different ones. For your brain to work properly, the levels of these chemicals need to be right.