Which disorder is characterized by alternating mood episodes including mania?

Which disorder is characterized by alternating mood episodes including mania?

• A. Schizophrenia
• B. Bipolar disorder
• C. Depersonalization disorder
• D. Conversion disorder.

Answer: (B)

Alternating mood states that include periods of mania point to bipolar disorder. Mania is a distinct period of abnormally elevated, expansive, or irritable mood with increased energy and activity, often accompanied by decreased need for sleep, pressured speech, racing thoughts, distractibility, and impulsive or risky behavior. In bipolar disorder, these manic or hypomanic phases alternate with depressive episodes, creating cycles of mood shifts over time. This pattern is not characteristic of schizophrenia, which centers on psychotic symptoms like delusions or disorganized thinking; nor of depersonalization or conversion disorders, which involve dissociative or neurological symptoms rather than true mood cycling with mania. So the description fits bipolar disorder because the defining feature is mood episodes that alternate and include mania.

Alternating mood states that include periods of mania point to bipolar disorder. Mania is a distinct period of abnormally elevated, expansive, or irritable mood with increased energy and activity, often accompanied by decreased need for sleep, pressured speech, racing thoughts, distractibility, and impulsive or risky behavior. In bipolar disorder, these manic or hypomanic phases alternate with depressive episodes, creating cycles of mood shifts over time. This pattern is not characteristic of schizophrenia, which centers on psychotic symptoms like delusions or disorganized thinking; nor of depersonalization or conversion disorders, which involve dissociative or neurological symptoms rather than true mood cycling with mania. So the description fits bipolar disorder because the defining feature is mood episodes that alternate and include mania.