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While most people with bipolar disorder and their loved ones are told that bipolar disorder is either a chemical imbalance of the brain and/or a mood disorder that can be characterized by extreme mood swings, it is really so much more than that.

Thanks to a man named Aretaeus in the second century AD, bipolar disorder has very historical roots. Aretaeus was the first to believe that the manic and depressive symptoms he saw in certain people were linked.

The disorder is physiological, since it has to do with your body, but mental as well, since it has to do with your mind.

Since part of it is associated with your brain, bipolar disorder can also be considered a neurological problem; however, it is usually termed merely “physical,” and referred to simply as a “chemical imbalance of the brain.”

Scientists are studying the genes that may cause bipolar disorder and will prove the disorder has biological roots. If they are successful in finding the specific gene or genes involved in the disorder, it may eventually lead to a cure for the disorder. As with any other medical issue, there is still great debate in the scientific community, and there is quite a bit of research still to be done to find a cure.

You may find that your doctor will tell you that your bipolar disorder has a medical element, as well. There is a greater risk of physical symptoms (body aches, headaches, backaches, stomach aches, etc.) when you are in a bipolar depressive episode than when you are not.

If you talk to your psychiatrist about your bipolar disorder, he or she will, of course, tell you that bipolar disorder is a psychiatric illness. In the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), you’ll find the information that your psychiatrist probably used to diagnose you in the first place.

As many studies have shown, bipolar disorder is hereditary and may be passed down through families.

Bipolar disorder is without a doubt an emotional disorder. As anyone who suffers with the disorder can say, your mood may swing uncontrollably from depression to mania and back again, and you have little to no control over those moods. This also causes emotional side effects such as stress, anxiety, and insomnia.

As with many disorders, bipolar disorder has a very personal element to it, as well. Because there is such a stigma in our current society against mental illness, many people with bipolar disorder choose to keep the truth of their disorder to themselves. It becomes an intensely personal thing, and they may not tell others they even suffer from the disorder.

Bipolar disorder is truly more than a chemical imbalance of the brain or a mere mood disorder. It is both of these things – and more.

David Oliver has the #1 website for bipolar information, symptoms, causes, medications and treatments.