ABSTRACT
Bipolar disorder is characterized by the occurrence of at least
one manic or mixed-manic episode during the patient’s
lifetime; almost all patients will also have one or more
depressive episodes at other times. In the intervals between
these episodes, most patients return to their normal state of
well-being. Thus, bipolar disorder is properly considered an
‘episodic’, ‘periodic’, or ‘cyclic’ illness, with patients ‘cycling’
up into a manic or mixed-manic episode, then returning to
normal and cycling ‘down’ into a depressive episode, from
which they likewise eventually more or less fully recover.
