Bipolar Type One vs. Type Two
- Catherine Moscatt
- Aug 19
- 2 min read
The biggest question I get asked about being bipolar (after “What type are you?”) is “How is Type One different from Type Two?” I’ll try to answer that now but as with most mental illnesses everyone is different and there are no absolutes.
I am Type One Bipolar. Thus, it is the one I am more familiar with. Those with Type One Bipolar usually have more severe and more frequent manic episodes. Manic episodes are upswings in mood and energy which sounds fun (weeeee!) but it’s a nightmare. Manic doesn’t necessarily mean “happy”. Usually I get very irritable and lash out at the people around me including my family. I also get a lot of energy, start projects and sleep alot less (if at all). I make bad decisions sexually. Sometimes if things get bad enough I have hallucinations and delusions. On several occasions, I’ve had to be hospitalized. I do get periods of depression but not as frequently as mania.
Those with Type Two Bipolar don’t get full fledged manic episodes; they get what is known as hypomanic, shorter in duration and less severe (you usually don’t have to be hospitalized for a hypomanic episode). Bipolar Two is still a rough deal though because they get very severe depressive episodes.
The first time I was hospitalized it was for a very serious depression where I was writing suicide notes and not showering. I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder, the first in a long (looooong line) of diagnosis and misdiagnosis. I heard that the onset of bipolar disorder is late teens, early twenties but I unearthed a video of me at fifteen and it sounds like I could be a poster girl for mania talking about how I felt angry but also happy and wayyy too energetic (“like someone has slipped something in my iced tea”) I was shocked to see I had been exhibiting symptoms since age fifteen.
Some fast facts:
You don’t have to have depression to have Bipolar Type One but it is common (I do at least)
About half of people experience psychosis during mania (which is more than I would expect)
Depressive episodes are more common than manic/ hypomanic episodes in both Type 1 and Type 2. In Type One Depressive Episodes to Manic/ Hypomanic episodes are 3:1 but in Type 2 Depressive Episodes to Manic/Episodes are 39:1. Obviously that is a huge difference.
For it to be a manic episode, symptoms must be present for at least a week. With hypomania they must be present at least four days.
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