Bipolar Disorder in Children WisdomCard™

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Bipolar disorder, also called manic-depressive illness, can be misdiagnosed as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when it appears in children.¹ Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness characterized by recurrent episodes of depression, mania, and/or mixed symptom states.² Young people with bipolar disorder may have symptoms more often and switch moods more frequently than adults with the illness; they may also have more mixed episodes than adults.² The symptoms may manifest as a variety of different behaviors.

Fast Facts:

• When children develop bipolar disorder it is called early-onset bipolar disorder; this can be more severe than bipolar disorder in older teens and adults.²
• Mania in children and teens may manifest as an overly inflated self-esteem, decreased need for rest and sleep, increased distractibility and irritability, excessive involvement in pleasurable and/or high-risk activities, increased talkativeness, excessive euphoria, severe mood changes, increased sex drive or hypersexuality, increased energy level, and/or poor judgment.³
• Depression in children and teens may include persistent feelings of sadness, feeling hopeless or helpless, low self-esteem, feeling inadequate, excessive guilt, suicidal thoughts or attempts, loss of interest in usual activities or activities, difficulty with relationships. sleep disturbances (such as insomnia or hypersomnia), changes in appetite or weight, decreased energy, difficulty concentrating, frequent physical complaints (such as headache, stomach ache, or fatigue), running away or threats of running away from home, hypersensitivity to failure or rejection, irritability, hostility, and/or aggression.³

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