Depression and Bipolar Disorder are both mood disorders. Mood disorders cannot be willed away or shaken off. Without treatment symptoms can worsen and last longer.
Depression negatively affects how a person thinks, feels and behaves. Depression typically first appears in late adolescence and early adulthood but can affect anyone, at any age.
Marked by extreme mood swings, severe highs (mania), and/or lows (depression), bipolar disorder causes unusual shifts in a person’s mood, energy levels, and ability to function. While everyone goes through ups and downs, bipolar symptoms are severe and each mood episode is a drastic change from a person’s usual mood and behavior. Bipolar disorder typically develops in late adolescence or early adulthood, although some teenagers and children may develop symptoms earlier and it can also first occur later in life.