What Is Bipolar Disorder? Signs & Symptoms FooterLogo
  • Join | Sign In
  • Search ADDitude
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • ADHD
    • ADHD Test
    • What Is ADHD?
    • ADHD Symptoms
    • ADHD Statistics
    • ADHD in Children
    • ADHD in Adults
    • ADHD in Women
    • The ADHD Brain
    • Find ADHD Specialists
  • Symptoms & Tests
    • All Symptom Tests
    • ADHD Test for Children
    • ADHD Test for Adults
    • ADHD Essentials
    • ODD
    • Autism
    • Learning Disabilities
    • Sensory Processing
    • Rejection Sensitivity
    • More Related Conditions
  • ADHD Treatment
    • Medication Reviews
    • ADHD Medications
    • Natural ADHD Remedies
    • ADHD Therapies
    • Managing Treatment
    • Treating Your Child
    • Find ADHD Specialists
  • ADHD Parenting
    • Behavior & Discipline
    • Positive Parenting
    • Schedules & Routines
    • Organizing Your Child
    • Health & Nutrition
    • Friendships & Activities
    • Teens with ADHD
  • School & Learning
    • Homework & Studying
    • Accommodations
    • IEPs & 504 Plans
    • Learning Challenges
    • School Behavior
    • Organization
    • For Teachers
    • High School
  • ADHD Adults
    • Do I Have ADD?
    • Getting Things Done
    • Time & Productivity
    • Health & Nutrition
    • Home Organization
    • Relationships
  • ADHD Resources
    • New Contest!
    • Gift Guides
    • ADHD News & Research
    • ADHD Newsletters
    • Free Downloads
    • Free Webinars
    • ADHD Directory
    • The ADDitude Store
  • For Professionals
    • For Clinicians
    • For Educators
    • Research Updates
  • MAGAZINE
    • SUBSCRIBE
    • New Issue!
    • ADDitude Magazine
    • Digital Issues
    • Give a Gift Sub!
  • Community
    • Discussion Forums
    • Guest Blogs
    • Videos
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Home

Inside the ADHD mind

  • Join
  •  | 
  • Sign In
Subscribe to Additude Magazine
  • ADHD
    • ADHD Test
    • What Is ADHD?
    • ADHD Symptoms
    • ADHD Statistics
    • ADHD in Children
    • ADHD in Adults
    • ADHD in Women
    • The ADHD Brain
    • ADHD Treatment
    • Find ADHD Specialists
  • Symptoms & Tests
    • All Symptom Tests
    • ADHD Essentials
    • ADHD Test for Children
    • ADHD Test for Adults
    • Oppositional Defiance
    • Autism Spectrum
    • Learning Disabilities
    • Sensory Processing
    • Rejection Sensitivity
    • More Related Conditions
  • ADHD Treatment
    • Medication Reviews
    • ADHD Medications
    • Natural ADHD Remedies
    • ADHD Therapies
    • Managing Treatment
    • Treating Your Child
    • ADHD Clinics
    • More ADHD Treatments
  • ADHD Parenting
    • Behavior & Discipline
    • Positive Parenting
    • School & Learning
    • Schedules & Routines
    • Organizing Your Child
    • Health & Nutrition
    • Teens with ADHD
    • More on ADHD Parenting
  • ADHD Adults
    • Do I Have ADD?
    • Getting Things Done
    • Time & Productivity
    • Health & Nutrition
    • Relationships
    • Home Organization
    • More for ADHD Adults
  • NEWS & FORUMS
    • New Contest!
    • ADHD News
    • ADHD Newsletters
    • Guest Blogs
    • Discussion Forums
    • Ask the Experts
    • ADHD Videos
  • DOWNLOADS, WEBINARS & TOOLS
    • Gift Guides
    • Free Downloads
    • Free Webinars
    • Symptom Tests
    • Newsletters
    • The ADDitude Directory
    • The ADDitude Store
  • For Professionals
    • For Clinicians
    • For Educators
    • Research Updates
    • ADHD Directory
  • MAGAZINE
    • New Issue!
    • Subscribe to Magazine
    • Subscriber Services
    • Digital Magazine
    • Give a Gift Subscription
    • Renew My Subscription
  • ADHD & Symptom Tests
  • ADHD Comorbidities & Related Conditions

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness that is characterized by extreme mood swings, abrupt changes in energy levels, and distorted decision making. Learn more about its symptoms and treatments here.

Annoyed ADHD woman using mobile phone in coffee shop

What Is Bipolar Disorder?

Whirling sparklers of light

How I Live Every Day with My Dual Diagnosis: ADHD and Bipolar 1

Mental Health Diagnosis: ADHD, Anxiety, Autism, Bipolor, Depression

Is It Just ADHD? Comorbidities That Unlock an Accurate Mental Health Diagnosis

Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria

Q: Bipolar Meltdown? Or Rejection Sensitivity Meltdown?

Bipolar disorder vs RSD

How to Distinguish ADHD’s Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria from Bipolar Disorder

Popular in Bipolar Disorder

A child with symptoms of bipolar disorder swings at the park

What Bipolar Disorder Looks Like in Children

As a child with ADHD, I often felt misunderstood. I’m sure that I looked lazy, lost, and confused to everyone else. While in my mind, I was analyzing, examining, and exploring endless possibilities. I didn’t feel lazy at all. My mind was constantly in motion. Thoughts were racing through my brain at the speed of light, and I didn’t know how to shut them off. I wish I could have explained what was going on to someone who would understand. A child with ADHD can be frustrating for parents, but remember the child is probably frustrated as well if her outside appearance is completely opposite to what she feels inside her mind.

[Self-Test] Does My Child Have Bipolar Disorder?

Becca Colao, an inattentive adult, recommends these strategies for living better with ADHD: - Set a timer to get yourself going on a boring task. - Put on high-energy music to rev yourself up before a long meeting, difficult chore, or anything else that tends to let your mind wander. - Hire a friend to check in on you periodically during a big project. If you’re off task, they can nudge you back to work. - Change up the view. When you find yourself getting distracted, move to a different location — outside, or maybe a coffee shop down the block. Moving locations can “reset” your brain when you get bored.

What Bipolar Disorder Looks Like in Adults

Bipolar disorder and ADHD

[Self-Test] Bipolar Disorder in Adults

Woman with ADHD stretches

Treatment for the Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder

A sad boy with ADHD sits on the stairs hiding his face

10 Myths (and Truths) About Bipolar Disorder

Conceptual representation of bipolar disorder vs. ADHD, wooden doll and his shadow

The Physician’s Guide for Distinguishing Bipolar Disorder and ADHD

How to Treat ADHD Symptoms with ADHD Medication Like Ritalin

Ask the Doctor: Is It ADHD or Bipolar — or Both?

Piecing together the puzzle of bipolar and ADHD together.

Bipolar Disorder

Solving the ADHD-Bipolar Puzzle

Dealing with ADHD is a challenge. Bipolar disorder? Even harder. And when the two of them occur...
A red and blue pill with black background signifying the diagnosis of bipolar disorder

Bipolar Disorder

Where ADHD and Bipolar Disorder Overlap

Impulsivity. Over-activity. Moodiness. These symptoms could describe ADHD or bipolar disorder — or...
A doctor consults with a patient about the possibility of adult ADHD.

Bipolar Disorder

Watch Out! Doctors Mistake Bipolar Disorder for ADHD

To doctors who are trained in mood disorders, ADHD symptoms can look like bipolar disorder. Don't let...
ADHD or Bipolar - Diagnosing Children

Ask the Experts

Is it ADHD or Bipolar Disorder?

ADHD and bipolar disorder often look alike at first. Know what symptoms and behaviors t...
Bipolar disorder and ADHD: Learn to tell the difference in this free download.

Free Downloads

Free Expert Resource: Solving the Bipolar and ADHD Puzzle

Symptoms of ADHD and bipolar disorder are often confused — and often coexist in the same person. How...
The different masks of bipolar disorder.

Guest Blogs

Bipolar at Five?! Not My Little Girl

I didn’t know what was wrong with my little girl until, unbelievably, the doctor said, “Sadie has...
The latest information, research, and news on conditions related to ADHD

ADHD News & Research

Teens with Bipolar Disorder at Greater Risk for Drug Abuse

Though bipolar disorder in teens is not yet fully understood, a new study points towards an increased...
Boy with executive function disorder frustrated by tasks listed on post-its on his face

ADHD Comorbidities & Related Conditions

Book Review: Kids in the Syndrome Mix

How to cope when it's not <em>just...
Boy with ADHD having meltdown and screaming outside

Ask the Experts

How Can We Help Our Troubled Child?

"Our 11-year-old son has ADHD (and takes Adderall, Depakote, and Seroquel) and has been under...
Children with ADHD and Bipolar Disorder: Meltdowns and Anger

Bipolar Disorder

“It Was The Illness Talking And Not My Loving Son.”

When a child with ADHD and bipolar disorder has said or done something hurtful, how do you keep the...
The latest information, research, and news on diagnosing and treating ADHD

ADHD News & Research

Anti-Inflammatory Diet May Help Mood Disorder Treatment

Results from a small, exploratory study suggest that patients with bipolar disorder experience most...
A maze representing the ADHD brain

ADDitude for Professionals

Comorbid Considerations Q&A: Treating Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Anxiety, or Autism Alongside ADHD

This Q&A for ADHD clinicians is the first in a five-part series with Dr. Anthony Rostain, a...
The latest information, research, and news on conditions related to ADHD

ADHD News & Research

Study: Related Conditions Associated with ADHD Don’t Impact Both Genders Equally

A study confirmed that ADHD impacts both genders equally, but suggests that related conditions do not...
Raising a Bi-Polar Child can be Lonely, like this Bench With Light and Shadow Streaming Through Window

Bipolar Disorder

“In Moms I Trust”

Raising a child with bipolar disorder can be frightening — and very lonely. I found strength in other...
avocado omega3

Bipolar Disorder

An Avocado a Day?

You know caffeine and sugar don't help your bipolar disorder, but what about grapefruit? Find out why...

Free Newsletter

Signs & Symptoms

Understand ADHD and related conditions.

      Read These Next

      It’s easy to write off a bad mood as just bipolar brain chemistry. This is an easy trap to fall into — one that can even help patients and family members cope from time to time. But for the most part, people with bipolar disorder react to daily events no differently than does everyone else — not everything is mania or depression. You have a right to your feelings. Don’t assume that every outburst or moment of sadness is just another “episode.”

      Bipolar Mood Disorder and ADHD

      Symptoms of ADHD and bipolar mood disorder are often confused — and often coexist in the same person. Learn...

      Book about bipolar disorder with diagnostic form next to it surrounded by different types of medication

      Does My Child Have ADHD & Bipolar Disorder?

      The symptoms and treatments of these two conditions are often confused thanks to overlapping symptoms, and...

      The latest information, research, and news on conditions related to ADHD

      ADHD Shares Links with Four Mental Disorders

      What it may mean for those diagnosed with attenti...

      More Articles Recommended For You

      • Becoming comfortable bringing up ADHD possibility
      • Q: How Can I Break My Son’s Obsession with (and Non-Stop Talking About) His Hobby?
      • roommate

      Recent Discussions

      Becoming comfortable bringing up ADHD possibility

      I am a working, 22 year old, female, college grad. I think I may have ADHD, but I have been consistently too...

      roommate

      What do you when you constantly annoy your roommate with ADHD related things? I try to be a considerate...

      I am a rock! …or not…

      The world sees a competent, analytical, unflappable realist regarding issues with my son, but I’m...

      Since 1998, millions of parents and adults have trusted ADDitude's expert guidance and support for living better with ADHD and its related mental health conditions. Our mission is to be your trusted advisor, an unwavering source of understanding and guidance along the path to wellness.

      Follow us:

      • Facebook
      • Twitter
      • Pinterest
      • Instagram

      Free Newsletter

      Newsletters

      for our newsletter

      (Select your free newsletters)

          Subscribe

          Get a free issue and free ADDitude eBook, plus save 42% off the cover price.

          Site Map

          • ADHD Overview
          • Symptom Tests
          • ADHD Treatment & Medications
          • ADHD Parenting Help
          • School & Learning
          • ADHD in Adults
          • For ADHD Professionals

          Community Resources

          • Find an ADHD Specialist
          • ADD Discussion Forums
          • Symptom Tests
          • ADHD Treatment Reviews
          • Guest Blogs
          • Free ADHD Webinars
          • Free ADHD Downloads

          ADDitudeMag.com

          • Join | Log In
          • Member Benefits
          • About Us
          • Our ADHD Medical Review Panel
          • Contact Us
          • Advertise
          • Privacy Policy

          ADDitude Magazine

          • ADDitude Magazine
          • Subscribe to ADDitude Magazine
          • Subscriber Access to Archives
          • Manage Your Subscription
          • Give ADDitude As a Gift
          • Browse eBooks
          • FAQ
          Copyright © 1998 - 2019 New Hope Media LLC. All rights reserved. Your use of this site is governed by our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. ADDitude does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The material on this web site is provided for educational purposes only.