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Bipolar disorder is a mental illness. It causes dramatic mood swings. The mood swings cause a person to feel overly "high" or irritable then feel sad and hopeless, and then back again, often with periods of normal mood in between. The periods of highs and lows are called episodes of mania and depression.
People with bipolar disorder who have extreme symptoms are sometimes incorrectly diagnosed as having schizophrenia, another severe mental illness.
Like other mental illnesses, bipolar disorder cannot be diagnosed with tests such as a blood test or a brain scan. A diagnosis of bipolar disorder is made on the basis of symptoms, course of illness, and, when available, family history.
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