Manic episodes rarely appear by themselves; they usually alternate with depression. Such a mood disorder, in which both mania and depression are alternately present, is sometimes interrupted by periods of normal mood. This is known as ‘bipolar mood disorder’. Bipolar mood disorders were earlier referred to as manic-depressive disorders. Among the mood disorders, the lifetime risk of a suicide attempt in highest in case of bipolar mood disorders. Several risk factors in addition to mental health status of a person predict the likelihood of suicide. These include age, gender, ethnicity, or race and recent occurrence of serious life events.