What is bipolar disorder?

Bipolar is characterized by dramatic mood swings. In this video, HealthMaker Herbert Pardes, MD, CEO of New York Presbyterian Healthcare System, explains the highs and lows of the disorder.

Transcript

00:00

Bipolar means that people have swings up and down, both depressions and what I call hypomanic or manic episodes.

00:06

One of the dangers in these terms is that it's sometimes a little bit overused. [SOOTHING MUSIC]

00:18

Bipolar means that people have swings up and down, both depressions and what I call hypomanic or manic episodes.

00:25

So that means somebody is sad, dejected, looks like they have no energy, don't want to work,

00:32

have physical-- all kinds of physical symptoms. And then you've got the occasional going the other way where a person is high,

00:39

and the life of a party, looks overstated, becomes unreasonably excited.

00:47

I frankly think one of the dangers in these terms is that it's sometimes a little bit overused.

00:57

But there are people who have those kind of swings. Years ago, it was more frequent for these swings

01:07

to be rather dramatic. So you'd have somebody come in who is on a manic stage and you would almost enjoy being with them. They were fun because everything could be done.

01:15

They're going to solve the world, make a million dollars, you know, do all kinds of things that sounded inflated.

01:23

That-- I don't see as much of that. But you do see people who bounce back and forth.