What is Bipolar Disorder?

So for the last 48hrs or so an "elevator video" of Solange Knowles beating her brother in law, Jay Z, while sister, Beyonce kept still has been trending.
Now there are speculations that she is mentally unstable and has 'bipolar disorder'.
Just to make it clear that I don't believe anyone should be stigmatized because of their condition let alone throwing out a diagnosis to explain some random behavior....let's leave that for the doctors.


But what is bipolar disorder?

Formerly called manic depression, bipolar disorder can have it's sufferers go from euphoric highs to drastic lows. The average age for the onset of attacks is 25yrs.
People with this disorder usually have at least one bout mania or "extreme high ". When in this "high" they may experience the following symptoms :

Rapid speech

Difficulty in concentrating

Extreme agitation

They may have this feeling of being invincible and tend to be reckless and aggressive.  They may drive recklessly, pick fights and even commit more serious crimes.

Transiting from this manic state comes with feelings of shame, then swinging into depression he is starts to have feelings of sadness, guilt, hopelessness and fatigue. In this state the person even becomes suicidal.

Some have connected this disorder to chemical imbalances in the brain, but no one knows what causes these imbalances.

If you feel you, a colleague at work  or someone close to you may have this condition contact a mental health professional immediately  (psychologist, psychiatrist, psychotherapist ).