Understanding Bipolar Dr. Fieve: "Bipolar is a recent substitute name for manic depression. It has been converted into Bipolar 1 and Bipolar 2 disorders. Bipolar 1 is characteristically diagnosed in patients that have had hospitalization for the manic episode, and they have been hospitalized for much of the time, but not all the time for the depressive episode. But the key thing is that they had a psychotic mania, and the depressive phase can be as severe in the 2, but the manic phase is much milder in the bipolar 2 phase than it is in the bipolar 1 phase."