Bipolar Affective Disorder

Aetiology, Psychopathology and Management

Abstract

Bipolar affective disorder is a chronic mental illness characterized by alternating episodes of opposing moods: depression and mania. This disorder affects one in a hundred people. It typically first appears in individuals between the ages of 18 and 20 years and can have various impacts on their educational/ occupational/ inter-personal and social lives. Men and women are affected equally by this disorder. The various disorders which come under Bipolar affective disorder are BPAD-type 1, BPAD-type 2, cyclothymia and mixed affective state. This article discusses in detail the psychopathology and clinical presentation of mania and depression. Also, a detailed review on the aetiology and management of BPAD is also discussed here.