1.+Bipolar+Disorder+-+An+Overview

 **__Bipolar Disorder: Overvie w__ Jim Carrey ** Bipolar disorder is defined as “A mood disorder in which manic episodes alternate with periods of depression, usually with respectively normal periods in between” (p.427, The World of Psychology). The main symptoms of this disorder are best described as extreme highs, and extreme lows. The neurotransmitters that are thought to be involved with this disorder are serotonin and norepinephrine. When these chemicals are imbalanced or not properly getting through, it can cause serious mood swings in a person's behaviour. It has shown that genetics actually play a role in developing a disorder seeing as, “people who have relatives with a mood disorder are at higher risk of developing mood disturbances…” (Kendler et al., 1992) (p.426, The World of Psychology), and this is also backed up by some findings by the University of Michigan, which states, “Bipolar disorder has a strong but still unknown tie to DNA; studies of identical twins show that if one twin has it, the other has an 80 percent chance of having it, too.” (The University of Michigan, 2000).