Bipolar disorder affects the person who has it — but it also impacts partners, family members, and friends. Supporting someone with bipolar disorder can be deeply meaningful, but it can also be confusing or overwhelming if you don’t know where to start.

This guide gives you practical, compassionate, realistic ways to help.

Many people know the textbook definitions of bipolar disorder—but far fewer understand what mood episodes actually feel like.

Here’s a compassionate, human-centered look at the experience of mania, hypomania, and bipolar depression.

Both Bipolar I and Bipolar II involve mood changes, but the intensity and type of high-energy episodes are different.

Here’s a simple breakdown.

Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition that causes significant shifts in mood, energy, and activity levels. These shifts—called mood episodes—range from periods of high energy (mania or hypomania) to low energy (depression).