You said that your child was recently happy or irritable for at least 1 week. You said this is very different from
how your child usually feels. Your child's very high mood caused some problems for him/her at home or other
places. 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 your child has had some of the following problems for at least 1 week:
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
You said that your child has not had problems with feeling very sad for a long period of time. Children who
have very high moods have a higher chance of having low moods. You should be aware of the following ways
children feel or act when they have low moods:
Sadness, Irritability
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
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.
