In bipolar, does mania and depression happen with a break between?

Sometimes No: There are generally three main forms of bipolar d/o- manic, depressed and mixed. Sometimes a person may have signs of mania and depression which coincide, that's called mixed. For some, there is what is known as rapid cycling, whereby one's moods change quickly, even daily or hourly. There are excellent treatments available. One needs to be careful with antidepressants, as they can make it worse.

Bipolar: Yes, moods can be normothymic between phases of depression/mania, and can last for months.

Yes and no....: People can have a different patterns of how their moods change. Some people have time in between periods of mania and depression in which they feel ok and the amount of time can vary. Others may switch with no time in between. Some can tend towards mild depression for a while before becoming more severely depressed and some can veer towards slight mania (hypo mania) before becoming truly manic.