Manic-Depressive Disorder

What is manic-depressive disorder?

Manic-depressive disorder is the former name for bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder is a serious brain disease that causes extreme shifts in mood, energy, and functioning. It affects approximately 2.3 million adult Americans-about 1.2 percent of the population.2 Men and women are equally likely to develop this disabling illness. The disorder typically emerges in adolescence or early adulthood, but in some cases appears in childhood.3 Cycles, or episodes, of depression, mania, or ?mixed? manic and depressive symptoms typically recur and may become more frequent, often disrupting work, school, family, and social life.

Scientists are learning about the possible causes of bipolar disorder through several kinds of studies. Most scientists now agree that there is no single cause for bipolar disorder?rather, many factors act together to produce the illness.


Please click on Bipolar Disorder for more information.

Additional Information

  1. Medications for Mental Illness
  2. Bipolar Disorder
  3. Child and Adolescent Bipolar Disorder

What can people do if they need help?


Reviewed by athealth on February 5, 2014.