Bi-polar affective disorder is a serious mental health problem involving extreme swings of mood (highs - mania and lows - depression). Someone experiencing mania may not recognise it is happening. Incoherent, rapid or chaotic thinking or being easily distracted are common features of an episode of mania.

Other symptoms may include paranoia and auditory or visual hallucinations. Grandiose delusions or ideas can occur where a sense of identity and self has been distorted by the illness.

Men and women, of any age from adolescence onwards and from any social or ethnic background, can develop bi-polar disorder. It often first occurs when work, study, family or emotional pressures are at their greatest. In women it can also be triggered by childbirth or during the menopause. The illness occurs in phases. It is possible to remain well for long periods without experiencing another bi-polar episode.