What Does Bipolar Disorder Look Like in Children and Adolescents?
Bipolar disorder may look different in young people than it does in adults. Children with bipolar disorder often have mood swings that shift rapidly over hours or even minutes, while adults’ mood swings typically shift over days to weeks. Whereas adults with bipolar disorder generally have discrete periods of depression and discrete periods of mania, children with bipolar disorder are more likely to have moods that are not distinct. Children who develop the disorder very young are particularly likely to experience irritability and frequent mood shifts rather than discrete periods of mania and depression. The first episode of bipolar disorder that a child or adolescent experiences may be in the form of depression, mania, or a combination of both. It may be difficult to identify a child’s “first episode” of bipolar disorder if mania and depression occur at the same time, or if these moods occur chronically rather than during discrete periods of time. During a depressive episode, children