In simple terms
whats bipolar 2? and schizophrenia? and ADD or ADHD? in terms a 13 year old can understand. any one would be helpful.
Answer:Schizophrenia covers a range of symptoms but is often identified by strong delusions, intense paranoia and hallucinations. It is a catch-all for a number of mental issues and generally can begin from late teens onwards. I would tell a 13 yr old it means imagining things that aren't real and behaving as if they are real.
Bipolar disorder, also called manic depression, is characterised by extreme mood swings and recurrent depression. I would tell a 13 yr old it means being very sad and angry and sometimes ridiculously happy instead of being mostly calm.
ADD is attention deficit disorder, and ADHD is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, identified by a very low attention span and hyperactivity. There is much debate as to whether this diagnosis is over-applied. I would tell a 13 yr old that it means not concentrating and always getting distracted instead of being mostly calm.
I would also tell a 13 yr old people like this might not be ill but they can't help it and they need people to be nice to them, but not to join in.
http://www.cchr.org/index.cfm/8771...
I think it's easier to understand bipolar 2 if you understand bipolar 1, which is characterized by alternating depression and mania. When people are depressed, they feel "down" most of the time. They might feel hopeless, like life isn't worth it, and isn't going to get better, and they might be tired a lot and feel sort of sick all the time. When people are manic, they have a lot of energy, and they tend to talk really fast, not sleep much, think they can do anything, make really bad decisions, and seem totally out of control. People sometimes describe this as being "up." People with bipolar disorder can cycle between manic and depressed anywhere from once or twice a year to every few days, but any given person will usually have a fairly predictable time frame for their cycles (so people who normally have a manic episode about once a year won't suddenly start having them twice a week without some specific cause, but the normal amount of time for one person can be really different than for another person).