Bipolar disorder affects 1% of people with onset typically in their 20s, causing extreme shifts in mood, energy, and perception that carry 20-30 times higher suicide risk. This episode explains the biology of bipolar I and II, the remarkable history of lithium's accidental discovery by Australian psychiatrist John Cade in 1949, how it works through neuroprotection and inflammation reduction, evidence-based talk therapies, electroconvulsive therapy for treatment-resistant cases, and emerging nutraceutical approaches like omega-3 fatty acids and inositol. Bipolar I requires manic episodes lasting seven+ days with three symptoms like distractibility, grandiosity, or zero sleep without distress; bipolar II involves shorter hypomanic periods (four days or less) often alternating with depressive episodes.