Manic depression

[stoogmeister]

What is manic depression and where can I find out more about it?

[andy hughes]

The term 'depression' is a confusing one because it in fers the same as 'being depressed'. The fact is, 'being depressed' is the result of normal mood swings which affect everyone, wheras 'depression' is a serious mental condition causing sadness, prologed crying, indecision, apathy, and thoughts of suicide. 'Manic depression', although conected medically, exhibits opposite symptoms, excessive energy and loss of need for sleep, rapid speech patterns, irrational spending sprees, and similar 'OTT' behaviour patterns point to the presence of this debilitating illness. Go to http://www.ndmda.org/ for more information.

[vittoria]

There are lots of books about it but a good, easy to read introduction is "An unquiet mind" by Kay Redfield Jamieson, in which she talks about her own experience of manic depression (she prefers to call it bipolar disease).