Bipolar Disorder: What It Is and How to Recognize It

Bipolar disorder (BD) is one of the most misunderstood conditions in psychiatry. Its true nature often escapes even professionals, leading to delayed help and incorrect management.

The Core: A Protective Psychosis

According to Dr. Saulitis, bipolar disorder is fundamentally a protective psychosis — a particular state of the psyche defined by a shift in affect. It is not simply mood swings; it is a lawful alternation of phases, each with its own internal logic and requiring its own approach.

Understanding this nature is essential. If BD is treated as ordinary depression or dismissed as "strange behaviour," any intervention will be imprecise and too late.

How to Recognize It: What to Watch For

The hallmark of BD is cyclicity. A person's condition changes in a recognizable pattern: an elevated phase gives way to a low phase, and vice versa. What matters is not any single episode but this rhythm of alternating phases.

Recognition is also difficult because the person looks — and feels — entirely different in each phase, and may not perceive the connection between episodes themselves. This is precisely why consultations for BD take considerably longer than for other conditions: the clinician must assemble a complete picture of the phase cycle.

Why It Must Not Be Delayed

Unrecognized and untreated bipolar disorder can drive a person into severe depression. Yet a correctly structured approach — one that accounts for phases — makes it possible to keep the condition under control. The operative word is "approach": what helps in one phase may be inappropriate or even harmful in another.

If you notice in yourself or a loved one a consistent rhythm of alternating highs and lows, this is a reason to consult a psychiatrist — not a psychologist, not an online forum, but a physician.