How to distinguish between depression and bipolar disorder? How to take care of it in daily life?

Depression and bipolar disorder are two common mental illnesses. They have different characteristics and symptoms. Correctly distinguishing between depression and bipolar disorder is very important for diagnosis, treatment and care. So how to distinguish between depression and bipolar disorder? How to care for them in daily life? Here is a popular science for everyone.

1. What is depression?

Depression is a typical condition of depressive disorder, which is mainly manifested by low mood, reduced interest and pleasure, decreased energy and decreased self-esteem. As the symptoms last longer, their severity will gradually increase. Depressed patients may feel helpless, hopeless, guilty and anxious, and may even experience abnormal physical manifestations such as sleep disorders, changes in appetite, inattention, memory loss, fatigue and weakness, which seriously affect the patient's daily life and work.

2. What is bipolar disorder?

Manic-depressive disorder is also known as manic depression. Medical students now call it bipolar disorder. It refers to a type of mental disorder with both manic episodes and depressive episodes. During the manic phase, the patient is in high spirits, full of energy, energetic, and impulsive. During the depressive phase, the patient is depressed, anxious, fatigued, insomniac, inferiority complex, suicidal tendencies, and may even have suicidal thoughts. However, during the interval between the manic and depressive episodes, the patient will return to normal mental state and social function.

3. How to distinguish between depression and bipolar disorder?

1. Emotional expression

Patients with depression are depressed and often feel sad, hopeless, helpless, and lose interest and enthusiasm in life, which seriously affects their daily life and work. Patients with bipolar disorder have drastic mood swings, sometimes high, excited, ecstatic, and sometimes low, frustrated, depressed, and the two emotions alternate, often accompanied by impulsiveness and irritability, and are easily excited and quarrelsome.

2. Sleep and appetite

Depressed patients often experience sleep disorders, which may be insomnia or excessive sleep, and their appetite is also suppressed and reduced. Bipolar patients show reduced sleep needs, high energy, and increased appetite.

3. Different attention

People with depression often have difficulty concentrating, have trouble maintaining their focus on daily activities, and are often hesitant in doing things. On the other hand, people with bipolar disorder tend to be overly focused, have jumping thoughts, and are easily distracted or impulsive.

4. Thinking and Behavior

Patients with depression often have self-blame, low self-esteem, negative thinking, and may experience hallucinations of death or suicidal thoughts. Patients with bipolar disorder, on the other hand, have overactive and irrational thinking, often impulsive behavior, and arrogant or self-important thinking.

5. Duration of symptoms

Patients with depression have longer-lasting symptoms, usually lasting more than two weeks, while patients with bipolar disorder have faster mood swings, with manic and depressive periods alternating within a few days or weeks and lasting shorter periods.

4. How to take care of it in daily life?

1. Provide safety care

Whether it is a patient with depression or bipolar disorder, they will have suicidal tendencies. Family members need to provide safety care when arranging a residence to ensure the safety of the patient's living environment, such as removing drugs and sharp objects that may cause harm, and ensuring that there are no dangerous objects around the patient. At the same time, family members must also ensure the safety of patients in social situations, and avoid letting them go out alone or participate in activities that may cause anxiety.

2. Make friends with patients

Family members should establish a relationship of trust and friendship with the patient, listen to the patient's feelings and concerns, respect the patient's needs, and provide them with support and understanding, avoid judgment and accusation, and give the patient enough space and time to express their emotions so that they feel accepted and valued. At the same time, family members should actively understand the patient's condition, patiently explain the symptoms and treatment methods to the patient, and help the patient better manage themselves.

3. Pay attention to your diet

A good diet can help improve mood and promote physical health, and plays an important role in the recovery of patients with depression and bipolar disorder. Family members should pay attention to the diet in daily care, ensure that patients get balanced nutrition, guide patients to maintain regular eating habits, and try to choose healthy foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains and protein. At the same time, avoid high-sugar, high-fat and processed foods, which may cause mood swings and decreased energy in patients.

4. Exercise appropriately

Exercise has a positive impact on mental health. Appropriate exercise can help patients with depression and bipolar disorder relieve stress and anxiety and promote physical health. In daily care, family members should encourage patients to choose a form of exercise that suits them, such as walking, jogging, yoga or other aerobic exercise, several times a week, and maintain regular exercise, so as to help patients release endorphins in their bodies, improve their mood, and reduce anxiety and depression.

Depression and bipolar disorder are two mental illnesses that need to be taken seriously. Understanding the condition, providing support and understanding, and taking effective daily care measures can help patients recover as soon as possible.

Author: He Lanying Shijiazhuang No. 8 Hospital Physical Therapy Center