Bipolar I Disorder, Most Recent Episode Manic

You said that your child was recently overly happy or irritable for at least one week. You said this is very different from how your child usually feels. You also said that your child has had a time(s) in the past when s/he felt very sad or overly happy. These changes in how your child feels have caused some problems for him/her at home or school. It may be causing problems in how s/he gets along with you, other adults, or other children. These problems may be so bad that you and/or your child's doctor feel there is a need to hospitalize your child. This is usually done to keep him/her from harming himself/herself or others. Some children who have the problems that you reported have Bipolar Disorder.

You said that your child has recently had some of the following problems for 1 week or longer:

• Big changes in how s/he feels: overly happy or silly; very irritable or angry
• Feeling too good about him/herself
• Too much energy; can go with little or no sleep for days without feeling tired
• Increase in talking. S/he talks too much, too fast, changes topics too quickly, and cannot be interrupted.
• Can't stay on task - shifts constantly from one thing to the next
• Takes big risks - uses alcohol and drugs, risky sexual activities

You may have said that your child had a time(s) in the past when s/he felt very sad for 2 weeks or longer. If this happened, you or others were worried about your child.

You should watch for changes in how your child feels. Although your child is not having the following problems now, s/he may have them in the future:

• Crying
• Doesn't want to do things s/he used to enjoy
• Eats too much or too little
• Has problems falling asleep or waking up too early
• Has too little or too much energy
• Says stomach or head hurts
• Feels worthless
• Has little or no hope
• Can't stay on task
• Feels bad him/herself
• Thinks about death
• Thinks about hurting or killing him/herself

The types of problems that you reported are not very common in children.

Adapted in part from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Facts for Families© series (1997), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Primary Care (DSM-PC) (1996) , and the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder: Fourth Edition (1994).