ok so for the record: bipolar disorder is not "being happy one moment and sad the next". this is not just untrue, it's a dangerous mischaracterization. most people would be surprised to learn how severe and traumatic it really is (thread)

though bipolar disorder is often described with the term "mood swings", the idea of a bipolar person experiencing mood changes on a minute-to-minute basis is entirely wrong. in reality, "mood swings" refers to episodes of "mania" and depression that can last for weeks or months.

most people think of mania as the "opposite" of depression when that's not the case. in fact, symptoms of mania and depression can coexist in what is called a "mixed episode". mania is something unique that most people are unfamiliar with and are not able to identify.

a manic episode can last for up to months if untreated. most manic episodes start as hypomania: increased energy, talkativeness, decreased need for sleep, impulsive behavior, irritability and flights of ideas.

if this gets worse it can turn into full mania, marked by delusions (mild or extreme), irrational behavior, sometimes hallucinations. this is psychosis. people going through manic episodes might believe they are god, or believe they are being spied on by malicious actors.

it's important to reiterate that this state can last for months at a time if not treated properly. this is why the stereotypical "happy/sad" bipolar person is entirely fictitious. we are talking about patterns of severe mental and physical shifts over long periods of time.

some people are diagnosed with bipolar 2 which means they have experienced episodes of hypomania and depression but not full mania. the diagnostic criteria for bipolar 1 is experiencing at least one episode of full mania.

i'm not going to go into depressive episodes here because people are in general more aware of depression symptoms than they are of mania. of course, bipolar depression has its own quirks, and since it is not the opposite of mania, it is possible to experience both simultaneously

the screenshots included in this thread are not meant to imply anything or poke fun the celebrities involved (rip etika). they're simply meant to illustrate behavior that to anyone familiar with mania should be an red flag.