Understanding Bipolar Disorder in Women
Bipolar disorder is a condition marked by shifts between elevated or energized states and periods of depression, beyond ordinary ups and downs. It exists on a spectrum, and in women it often includes more depressive episodes, which can lead to it being mistaken for depression alone. At Lilac Psychiatry, bipolar disorder is evaluated and treated by Natasha Massoudi, MD, MPH, a physician who specializes in women's mental health.
Signs and Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder
Symptoms vary by person and by episode. You may recognize some of these:
- Periods of unusually high energy, racing thoughts, or reduced need for sleep
- Elevated, irritable, or unusually confident mood
- Impulsive decisions that feel unlike you
- Episodes of deep depression, low energy, and loss of interest
- Distinct shifts in mood, activity, and functioning over days or weeks
- Symptoms that can intensify around childbirth or hormonal transitions
How Bipolar Disorder Can Affect Women
Bipolar disorder in women is often weighted toward depressive episodes and can be closely linked to reproductive events, with a notably higher risk around the postpartum period. Because the depressive side is more visible, women are sometimes treated for depression alone, which can miss the fuller picture. An accurate, women-focused evaluation is essential to getting care right.
How We Treat Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder is a highly manageable condition with the right, consistent care. Treatment is individualized and evidence-based, and typically combines medication with psychotherapy, education, and support for sleep and daily rhythms. As a physician who provides both, Dr. Massoudi partners with you on a plan that supports lasting stability, especially around vulnerable times such as pregnancy and postpartum.
What to Expect at Your First Visit
Your first appointment is an unhurried 90 minute evaluation that carefully explores your history of mood, energy, and sleep over time. Getting the diagnosis right is the foundation of effective care. Visits are delivered by secure telehealth across Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Florida.
When to Reach Out
If your moods and energy swing in ways that disrupt your life, or if depression treatment has not fully worked, a careful evaluation can bring clarity. You deserve an accurate answer and steady support. There is space for your story here.
What to Expect in Care
A few things set Lilac Psychiatry apart, and you feel them from the very first visit:
- One physician, steady continuity. Every visit is with Dr. Massoudi, the consistency that lasting stability depends on.
- Trained to read the full pattern. Fellowship-trained, alert to the depression-weighted way bipolar often appears in women.
- Time to get the diagnosis right. First visits run 90 minutes, because accurate care begins with a careful history.
- A complete plan, not just medication. Medication paired with therapy, education, and support for sleep and daily rhythms.
Stability is within reach.
Accurate diagnosis and steady, physician-led care, from wherever you are.
FAQs
Symptoms include periods of elevated or irritable mood, high energy, racing thoughts, and reduced sleep, alternating with episodes of depression, low energy, and loss of interest. In women, depressive episodes are often more prominent.
Bipolar disorder results from a combination of genetic and biological factors, and episodes can be triggered by stress, sleep disruption, and hormonal changes, including the postpartum period. A full evaluation focuses on accurate diagnosis and effective treatment.
It commonly emerges in the late teens through the twenties, though it can appear later and may first become apparent around a reproductive event such as childbirth. Symptoms can also evolve over time.
Because women often experience more depressive episodes, bipolar disorder can look like recurring depression, with periods of elevated or irritable energy that are easy to overlook. This is why a careful history matters for an accurate diagnosis.
Yes. Dr. Massoudi evaluates and manages bipolar disorder by secure telehealth for women in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Florida, combining medication management with psychotherapy and support.