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Bipolar and Related Disorders (Main Menu)

Bipolar disorders

This Menu contains links to pages related to BIPOLAR DISORDERS. (The relevant chapter in the DSM-5-TR® is titled Bipolar and Related Disorders.)

Other MAIN MENUS can be found by clicking on *MENUS* at the top of any page on this website.

In the Menu below, click on the category (or the arrow to the left of its name) to EXPAND the category and see what is included in it.

When you are done, click on the category (or the arrow to the left of it) to COLLAPSE it.


Bipolar disorders—Screening, Diagnosis, and Evaluation

Diagnosing bipolar disorder

How to EFFECTIVELY screen patients for possible bipolar disorder

Tips on differentiating unipolar from bipolar depression

Identifying bipolar disorder: Part one

Identifying bipolar disorder, Part two: The Bipolarity Index

Identifying bipolar disorder, Part three: MoodCheck

Are we missing cyclothymic disorder by putting it into bipolar disorder NOS?

What are the differences between hypomania and mania, and why do we care?

Was it really hypomania?

What is antidepressant-induced mania or hypomania?

Bipolar disorder or substance use? Tips on resolving the diagnostic confusion

Bipolar disorder or substance use? Tips on resolving the diagnostic confusion

Why we must identify and characterize psychotic features in manic episodes

The Mood Disorders Questionnaire is being used inappropriately

Don’t use screening questionnaires for bipolar disorder

“Specifiers” for mood disorders

How to diagnose atypical features in depressive and bipolar disorders


Bipolar disorder with rapid cycling

What is bipolar disorder with rapid cycling?

How common is bipolar disorder with rapid cycling?

What are the risk factors for bipolar disorder with rapid cycling?

Bipolar disorder with rapid cycling: Management


Bipolar disorders with mixed features

Understanding “mixed features” in episodes of mood disorders

Tips on correctly diagnosing mixed features

A practical guide to the management of bipolar disorders with mixed features

A patient with bipolar disorder with mixed features who can’t tolerate medications due to over-sedation


Bipolar disorders—Management

The articles below are about how to manage bipolar disorders. For detailed information about the medications used to treat bipolar disorder, please see our menu on “Mood Stabilizers”:

Mood Stabilizers (Main Menu)


Management of manic episodes

Divalproex (valproate) loading dose

Combination therapy (mood stabilizer plus antipsychotic) for acute mania?

How should antidepressant-induced mania or hypomania be managed?

Mania/hypomania after starting an antidepressant: Always treat with a mood stabilizer?


Management of bipolar depression

When NOT to use antidepressants in bipolar depression

Which antidepressants have a greater or lesser risk in bipolar depression?

Should we try to avoid serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) in bipolar disorder?

Does bupropion really have a lower risk of switching in bipolar disorder?

Difficult-to-treat bipolar depression

Bipolar depression: Factors affecting treatment selection and outcomes

Pearls in treating bipolar depression: Interview with Joseph Goldberg, MD

When patients with bipolar disorders worry about losing their creativity

Tips on evaluating patients for remaining or residual symptoms


Management of bipolar disorder with rapid cycling

Bipolar disorder with rapid cycling: Management


Maintenance (preventive) treatment

How to do relapse prevention in bipolar disorder

These relapse prevention strategies can improve outcomes in bipolar disorders 

A key strategy for preventing relapse and aborting manic episodes

How to know who will respond better to lithium

A practical guide to the management of bipolar disorders with mixed features

Can lamotrigine monotherapy be used for maintenance treatment in bipolar I disorder?

A strategy for patients who decline every medication option

What to tell patients after a single (“first”) episode of mania

Key principles for managing bipolar II disorder


Other interventions

Does gabapentin (Neurontin®) work for bipolar disorder?

Minimizing caffeine may be helpful in bipolar disorder


Bipolar disorders—Resources

Practice guidelines for bipolar disorders

BEST Books on Bipolar Disorder: For Patients and/or Families

An Unquiet Mind


Bipolar disorders—Comorbidities

Comorbidity in bipolar disorders: Introduction

Bipolar disorder with comorbid ADHD

How commonly do bipolar disorder and ADHD occur together?

Does this person have ADHD, bipolar disorder, or both?

How to treat ADHD in persons with bipolar disorder


Bipolar disorder with comorbid anxiety disorders

Bipolar disorders with comorbid anxiety disorders

How to treat comorbid anxiety disorders in bipolar disorders with medications

The Manic-Panic Connection: Comorbid Bipolar Disorder and Panic Disorder

Bipolar disorder with comorbid panic disorder: Treatment


Bipolar disorder with comorbid substance use disorders

How common is the comorbidity of bipolar disorders and substance use disorders?

Tips on treating patients with BOTH a bipolar disorder AND a substance use disorder

Tips on treating alcohol use disorder in persons with a bipolar disorder


Bipolar disorder with comorbid OCD

Comorbid obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in bipolar disorders

How should obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) comorbid with bipolar disorder be treated?


Bipolar disorders—Miscellaneous topics

How to elicit what our patients really think about their diagnosis

How to get better outcomes in bipolar disorder (Video interview with Gary Sachs, MD)

YOU ask the Expert: Bipolar disorders (Joseph Goldberg, MD)


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