Bi-polar disorder, also known as manic-depression, is a mood disorder recognized by its periods of mania and depression. These periods can last hours, days, weeks or months. Often, there are periods of wellness between these episodes where there are few to no symptoms present. People with bipolar disorder experience four types of mental states which are depression, hypomania, mania, and mixed-state. Sometimes when a person is in extreme mania or depression they will also experience psychosis. Depression is characterized by on-going sadness; loss of interest in things you usually enjoy; difficulty sleeping or oversleeping; changes in body weight; physical slowing or agitation; loss of energy; feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt; difficulty thinking or concentrating; and recurrent thoughts of death or suicide.
             (March 30, http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/bipolarrestfact.cfm)
             Hypomania is not as intense or overwhelming a feeling as mania, but it shares many of the same characteristics with actual mania. The following quote can summarize it: "At first, when I'm high, it's tremendous...ideas are fast...like shooting stars you follow until brighter ones appear....all shyness disappears, the right words and gestures are suddenly there...uninteresting people, things, become intensely interesting. Sensuality is pervasive; the desire to seduce and be seduced is irresistible. Your marrow is infused with unbelievable feelings of ease, power, well-being, omnipotence, euphoria....you can do anything...but, somewhere this changes" (March 15, 2002,
             http://www.molbio.princeton.edu/courses/mb427/2000/projects/0002/index3.html). Mania is often said to be a step beyond hypomania. Symptoms include abnormally and persistently elevated (high) mood, or irritability, occurring with at least three of the following: overly-inflated self-esteem; decreased need for sleep; increased talkativeness; racing thoughts; distractibility, increased ...