Is there a difference between Bi Polar disorder and Maniac Depression? The biggest difference is that the term “maniac depression” is no longer used. At one point in time when someone’s behavior would swing from depression to maniac type behavior it was the key term to describe the disorder but today the proper diagnosis is Bi Polar disorder.
Terminology often changes when it comes to both mental and physical disorders but does that change the disease? In some cases the reason the terms to describe a disease is changed is because there is new or more information about the disease that is gathered so the name or the terms used are changed to better reflect that new information.
Understanding The Why’s
A lot of lay people have difficulty understanding why a disorder’s name changes and they often think that it is two different disorders. The term maniac depression is a bit outdated because we know now that Bi Polar disorder does not necessarily include maniac behavior.
The behavior changes with Bi Polar disorder may be subtle and they may be coupled or concealed by other behaviors. The term maniac depression raises images of someone either in a very frantic risky state or in a very depressed state unable to function.
Understanding that the disease is the same but the view of the disease has changed as has the treatment of the disease. Mental health has come a long way in the last 25 years and not only the diagnosis of mental health disease has changed but the approach to treatment has also changed.
Saying that a patient is bi polar is a kinder term that is more accurate than saying that they are maniac depressive. There is also a diagnosis for someone that displays a milder form of bi polar disorder. This diagnosis is bi polar disorder II.
Misdiagnosis
In some people this disorder is so sever that it can be misdiagnosed as other more severe mental health issues like schizophrenia. In others it can be misdiagnosed as clinical severe depression. Largely the misdiagnose occurs depending on the time the mental health professional sees the patient. If they are seen during a maniac episode than schizophrenia is often misdiagnosed if it is during a depressive episode than clinical depression is diagnosed.
In either case the proper term to use for the correct diagnosis is bi polar disorder. Maniac depression is an antiquated term that is no longer used.
