BIPOLAR DISORDER (Emotional) Each year, about 2.5% of the population is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a disorder formerly called manic depression. The average age of onset of this mental disorder is set at the age of 25, but symptoms of this disorder have been recognized in virtually all age groups. This serious disorder affects people of all social and economic backgrounds, all ethnicities and both genders. The "ups and downs" and "falls" of mood in bipolar disorder cause significant limitations in social and professional relationships as well as conflicts and alienation from the family environment. Bipolar disorder, when not treated in a timely and effective manner, makes it particularly difficult or impossible to maintain a job and creates feelings of low self-esteem and despair in the sufferer which are particularly aggravated in the depressive phase. Bipolar disorder is actually a neurochemical disorder that causes extreme mood swings and emotions. Patients with bipolar disorder need immediate psychiatric treatment because suicide rates are at 10-15%. These patients respond positively to the necessary medication which in combination with appropriate psychotherapy leads to excellent results.