Bipolar Type 1 and 2

There are two different types of bipolar disorder. You may be wondering which one is more serious or which one can cause more damage.

Type 1 involves periods of severe mood episodes from mania to depression.

Type 2 is a milder form of mood elevation, involving milder episodes of hypomania that alternate with periods of severe depression.

You would think that Type 1 causes more damage because it is more severe, but on the contrary, type 2 generally causes more damage because it is milder and psychiatrists tend to mis-diagnose people who have it or they are never diagnosed at all, in which case some people can go without treatment for 10 to 20 years and may develop an alcohol or drug problem.