Bipolar disorder was previously diagnosed as ‘manic depression’. As the older name suggests, someone with bipolar disorder will have severe mood swings. These usually last several weeks or months and are far beyond the experiences of the general population. The symptoms can be described as follows: | Bipolar disorder was previously diagnosed as ‘manic depression’. As the older name suggests, someone with bipolar disorder will have severe mood swings. These usually last several weeks or months and are far beyond the experiences of the general population. The symptoms can be described as follows: |