Depression and Bipolar Disorder

Depressed patients have problems eating and sleeping, and their moods are blue. They may have anhedonia and hopelessness. Many are irritable and guilty. The danger is they may commit suicide if their depressions are not treated. Depression is common and strikes fifteen to thirty percent of the population. It is not simply a down mood as many people believe. Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya provides a good example of a depressed character to whom the audience can relate because of his humor and humanity. Many times defenses like humor or sarcasm are used by depressed patients to hide their depressed moods. Bipolar patients can alternate from bouncing around in hypomania, like Chekhov’s Ivanov, or be depressed like Vanya. If a person swings back and forth between a down mood and an up mood, the person may very well have bipolar disorder.