What Are the Differences Between ADHD and Bipolar?
While ADHD is characterized by inattention and most often some hyperactivity, bipolar disorder is characterized by mood swings between high energy and activity (known as mania or hypomania) and feelings of sadness or being blue (known as depression). While children with ADHD may sometimes feel sad for no reason, children with bipolar disorder may feel sad for weeks on end for no discernible cause. Both the manic feelings and the depressive feelings in the child cause significant problems for him or her throughout virtually every aspect of their lives — school, play, friends, home, etc. A bipolar child’s mood is pervasive and seems impossible to shake, while a child with ADHD’s mood may come and go, but generally they are neither particularly depressed nor manic. A child in the midst of bipolar depression may be inattentive because they’ve lost all desire to care about what it is they’re doing. A child with ADHD is inattentive because they simply don’t have the ability to focus on any o
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