Bipolar Disorder involves episodes of depression and episodes of mania or hypomania. Therefore its management usually involves two parts:

• Treating the current episode of mania or depression, and

• Preventing the long-term recurrence of mania and depression.

In this section we cover the main treatment approaches for Bipolar Disorder.

Key points about treatments

• Bipolar Disorder is an illness which can require long-term treatment.

• Everyone is different and therefore the appropriate treatment for a particular individual is a matter for a skilled medical practitioner

• Physical treatments are necessary for Bipolar Disorder - psychological approaches by themselves are not sufficient but, alongside drug treatments, serve a valuable complementary role.

• With the right medical management people with Bipolar Disorder can achieve stability and live successful lives.

• While the great majority of people with Bipolar Disorder will benefit from treatment, it is difficult to know beforehand;

• which drug regime will be of most benefit to any particular individual, and

• how long it will take to bring the mood swings under control.

• Therefore, keeping a Daily Mood Graph can be of fundamental importance to your clinician in assessing the impact of differing treatments on your mood swings over time, and will be of great benefit to you.