What is the most distinctive difference between depression and bi-polar? Moreover, how does anxiety play a role in both?

Answer by Mark Myers:

Depression, bi-polar,and anxiety or three different diagnosis's that could all be treated differently. There are varying types of depression but for most part  symptoms include: feeling depressed most of day, decrease of enjoyable pursuits, increase or decrease of appetite, fatigue, difficulties concentrating, feeling worthless, and/or suicidal thought. A person who is depressed does not have to feel all of these to have a diagnosis of depression. The specific type of Depression Diagnosis would depend on how many symptoms the person identifies with and severity of symptoms.
Bi-Polar includes the a fore mentioned depression symptoms as well as Manic symptoms. These would include: elevated or irritable moods, involvement activities that have a high potential for injury or consequences, increase in goal directed activities, distractability, flight of ideas, talkative or feeling pressured to talk, inflated self esteem, and decreased need for sleep. Again, there are varying diagnosis's a person could have with bi-polar, and that as well would depend on severity of symptoms. So, bi-polar you have both the depressive symptoms and the manic symptoms.
Anxiety disorders have different categories that a person could be diagnosed with. These include: restlessness, difficulty concentrating, irritability, sleep disturbance, worrying, muscle tension, and in some cases, panic feelings. It is easy to see how some symptoms could overlap. Some individuals have both anxiety and depression. It may be difficult to decipher if a person is anxious because they have been depressed or the opposite. In addition the diagnosis of bi-polar is a possibility as well. To further complicate things, if a person is going the medication route, at times, by just addressing the depressive symptoms puts that individual at risk for a manic attack.
Determining an accurate diagnosis is not always easy. The person diagnosing is dependent on the reporting of the patient. One evaluator may come up with a different diagnosis than another. The person reporting, may under report their symptoms, or misrepresent them. An accurate diagnosis may take some time to determine. Often times, it is helpful to get family members in to offer input with the evaluation.

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Mark Myers expert answer to: How is Bipolar different from Depression?

Bipolar disorder or manic depressive disorder is a disorder that causes a shift in moods.  These shifts in moods are more significant than the average person may feel on a day to day basis.   The mood shifts for someone who is bi polar are more significant and intense and most of the times create problems in a person’s life. 

The symptoms usually appear in the late teens or early adulthood, although it is not unusual for a child or older adult to be diagnosed with this disorder.  Approximately half of the cases are diagnosed prior to age 25.

The symptoms would include mood shifts of mania and depression.  The manic symptoms would include: irritability; extreme energy; behaving impulsively and taking part in a lot of pleasurable high-risk behaviors, such as, spending sprees, impulsive sex, and impulsive business investment; racing thoughts, lack of sleep, agitation, and in some cases psychotic features such as delusions or hallucinations.  The depressive side include: sadness; guilt; anger; isolation; or hopelessness; disturbances in sleep and appetite; fatigue and loss of interest in usually enjoyable activities; problems concentrating; loneliness, self-loathing, apathy or indifference; loss of interest in sexual activity; lack of motivation; and suicidal ideation.

The key difference is someone with a diagnosis of depression will not experience the mood swings or manic phase. Sometimes the manic phase may not be easily diagnosed or seen.  A person with a bipolar disorder may under report these symptoms or they may not be clearly identified. Furthermore, a person suffering from a bi polar disorder may not quickly want to address these symptoms.  There are some symptoms in the manic phase that they find enjoyable or even productive.  They may not see a concern about addressing them as significant others may.  Lastly, if the wrong medication is prescribed this could exacerbate the symptoms which could lead to a psychotic episode.

The recommended course of treatment would be seeing a psychiatrist for medication management as well as a therapist for talk therapy.  Family involvement is also helpful.  Educating family about signs and symptoms as well as offering support for them is an important part of the therapy.