Demi Lovato and Catherine Zeta-Jones Both Diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder

Eady day more and more people are discovering that they are affected by bipolar disorder.

Disney star Demi Lovato is the latest to discover she's bipolar after a three month stay at a treatment center where she was being treated for bulimia, anorexia, and cutting. The 18-year-old starlet admits to having manic episodes in a people magazine interview. She looks back on times where she was up until early hours of the morning having written 7 songs. She says she has battled depression from an early age and that she was bullied in school for being fat. She calls it her darkest time and like many, hopes to help others by admitting she is bipolar.

Catherine Zeta-Jones is another Hollywood star recently diagnosed with bipolar II disorder. She says her mental illness had been marked with periods of depression and mild mania. She was stepped forward in hopes that she could encourage others to seek help. She says there is no need to suffer silently. And she's right. There is no shame in her admission. Zeta-Jones was checked in to Silver Hill Hospital in early April. The mental health hosptial is located in New Canaan, Connecticut. She also is set to start filming a new romantic comedy, Playing The Field, in Louisiana.

Hopefully their admissions will enable others to come forward. Bipolar disorder affects both men and women and normally appears between the ages of 15 and 25. The cause in unknown, but like many things it happens more often in relatives of people who have it. Bipolar involves periods of mania also known as excitability, with bouts of depression, and mood swings. In the past it was labeled as manic depression.

There are two main varities of bipolar disorder: bipolar disorder I and bipolar disorder II. Bipolar disorder I involves having at least one full manic episode with periods of major depression. People with bipolar disorder II rarely experience full mania, instead they have periods of hypomania and alernate with periods of major depression.

There is also cyclothymia,a mild form of bipolar disorder that involves hypomania and mild depression, this one has less severe mood swings. Sometimes those with bipolar disoder II or cyclothymia can be diagnosed as having depression alone.

Find out the symptoms of bipolar disorder and make yourself aware of this struggle that so many go through. Check it out here: http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/bipolar-disorder?utm_medium=ask&utm_source=smart&utm_campaign=article&utm_term=Bipolar+Disorder&ask_return=Bipolar+Disorder