Do you know which form of bipolar disorder you have?

Bipolar disorder usually lasts a lifetime. Episodes of mania and depression typically come back over time. Between episodes, many people with bipolar disorder are free of symptoms, but some people may have lingering symptoms.
Doctors usually diagnose mental disorders using guidelines from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM. According to the DSM, there are four basic types of bipolar disorder:
1.  Bipolar I Disorder is mainly defined by manic or mixed episodes that last at least seven days, or by manic symptoms that are so severe that the person needs immediate hospital care. Usually, the person also has depressive epi­sodes, typically lasting at least two weeks. The symptoms of mania or depres­sion must be a major change from the person’s normal behavior. 
2.  Bipolar II Disorder is defined by a pattern of depres­sive episodes shifting back and forth with hypomanic episodes, but no full-blown manic or mixed episodes.
3.  Bipolar Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (BP-NOS) is diagnosed when a person has symp­toms of the illness that do not meet diagnostic criteria for either bipolar I or II. The symptoms may not last long enough, or the person may have too few symp­toms, to be diagnosed with bipolar I or II. However, the symptoms are clearly out of the person’s normal
range of behavior.
4.  Cyclothymic Disorder, or Cyclothymia, is a mild form of bipolar disorder. People who have cyclothymia have episodes of hypomania that shift back and forth with mild depression for at least two years. However, the symptoms do not meet the diagnostic requirements for any other type of bipolar disorder.

Some people may be diagnosed with rapid-cycling bipolar disorder. This is when a person has four or more episodes of major depression, mania, hypomania, or mixed symptoms within a year.
 Some people experience more than one episode in a week, or even within one day. Rapid cycling seems to be more common in people who have severe bipolar disorder and may be more common in people who have their first episode at a younger age. One study found that people with rapid cycling had their first episode about four years earlier, during mid to late teen years, than people without rapid cycling bipolar disorder.Rapid cycling affects more women than men.