What is bipolar disorder and what are the myths surrounding it? Bipolar is also known as manic depression and individuals who are said to be affected by it suffer from extreme shifts in mood, thinking and energy and tend to swing between one extreme to the other. Most individuals have mood swings and tend it get over it maybe in a couple of hours or a couple of days. But in this condition these mood swings last over a week and in some extreme cases last over a month. If left untreated bipolar tend to affect the day to day activities of an individual as extreme swings in mood makes concentrating on a particular task difficult. There are several myths about this condition and the most common one is that it cannot be treated. The fact is that it can be treated but it takes time and a lot of effort from the individual and also from his family and friends. The disorder may start during the teenage years of an individual and continue well into his or her adu