Diagnosis
Bipolar disorder is diagnosed via clinical observation. Diagnosis must be done by your doctor in the hospital. It may involve a section discussing your experiences, progression, and symptoms of the condition. You must experience at least one episode of hypomania [4] or mania [5] to qualify for a diagnosis. Your doctor will evaluate the seriousness of the episodes to know the type.
You may also undergo a physical test and blood work to know if there’s any other condition. It is always difficult for doctors to differentiate between bipolar and unipolar depression. Unipolar depression [6] is also known as major depressive disorder (MDD). It also has several similarities with bipolar depression. Your doctor considers your history of mania and hypomania before diagnosing you with bipolar disorder. It would help to know that there are different types of the disorder. Recent studies have shown the relationship between the diagnosis of mood conditions and the expression of a major brain molecule.