Imagine days of the blackest of depression book-ended by days of near euphoria, with the cycle of extreme mood swings taking over and dominating your life, eliminating most hope for a normal, functional existence.That’s the life of those suffering from bi-polar disorder, also known as manic-depressive disease.In any given year, 2.6 percent of all adult Americans are plagued by bi-polar disorder, a condition which, on average, takes 10 years to be diagnosed and the right combination of medicine to treat the condition.According to Generations/ Gaither's Group case manager Julia Boyd, bi-polar is primarily a biological disorder, thought to involve neurotransmitters in the brain, for which there is no test to diagnose. Instead, it is usually diagnosed from its symptoms, with most sufferers going to a medical doctor when in the depressive stage.“Bi-polar usually emerges in the 20s but we’ve seen it in children as young as 6,” said Boyd. “For a long time it wasn’t believed to affect children, who were often misdiagnosed as suffering from attention deficit disorder (ADD) when they were seen in the manic stage.”Triggers that can set off bi-polar include stress and social conditions, as well as drug abuse, alcohol, steroids and other stimulants such as cocaine and amphetamines.“Bi-polar disorder afflicts about 2 million Americans in any given year.