Bipolar disorder and schizophrenia have some things in common. As mentioned, they both can involve episodes of psychosis, including hallucinations and delusions, says Dr. Hong. They also typically begin during adolescence or early adulthood, says Sogand Ghassemi, MD, a child, adolescent, and adult Psychiatrist for Newport Healthcare’s PrairieCare psychiatric program in Minnesota.
The main difference between them is whether mood episodes are present and how often certain symptoms like psychosis appear. “In bipolar disorder, mood cycling (mania and depression) defines the clinical course, with psychotic symptoms typically appearing only during extreme mood states,” says Dr. Ghassemi. “In contrast, schizophrenia’s primary features are persistent psychotic symptoms, often without significant mood alterations.”
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