Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness that can damage relationships, career prospects, academic performance, and can even lead to suicidal tendencies and also causes people to have episodes of severe high and low moods. (Psychology Today) People who have this illness switch from feeling overly happy and energized to feeling very sad and vice versa. It is a chronically recurring condition of how you feel and act. Experts believe bipolar disorder is partly caused by an underlying problem with specific brain circuits and the balance of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters.The brain chemical serotonin is connected to many body functions such as sleep, wakefulness, eating, sexual activity, impulsivity, learning, and memory.
Researchers believe that abnormal serotonin levels lead to mood disorders. (Helpguide) This disorder affects the individual because it causes episodes of mania and depression. In the manic period, it may feel good at first but it has the tendency to be out of control. People often behave recklessly during a manic episode and symptoms may include low attention span, period of euphoria, restlessness, talking a lot,delusions and hallucinations in severe cases.When it comes to the depression state, certain symptoms are more common in bipolar depression than in regular depression.
Bipolar depression is more likely to involve irritability, guilt, unpredictable mood swings, and feelings of restlessness. People may also tend to move and speak slowly, sleep a lot, and gain weight. Bipolar disorder also comes in several different forms. It features symptoms of both mania or hypomania and depression.Common signs of a mixed episode include depression combined with agitation, irritability, anxiety, insomnia, distractibility, and racing thoughts.
This combination of high energy and low mood could potentially lead to a high risk of suicide. There are 3 different faces of Bipolar Disorder. There is Bipolar I which is the classic manic-depressive form of the illness, characterized by at least one manic episode or mixed episode. Bipolar II doesn’t experience full-blown manic episodes, but instead the illness involves episodes of hypomania and severe depression.And lastly, there is Cyclothymia which is a milder form of bipolar disorder.
It consists of cyclical mood swings. (WebMD) However, the symptoms are less severe than full-blown mania or depression. With cyclothymia, it involves experiencing periods when mood changes noticeably shifts up and down. The individual may feel on top of the world for a time, followed by a low period when it feels somewhat blue.
Socially, bipolar disorder is difficult to perceive socially but is not impossible to live with.The individual must make smart choices because the choice of lifestyle and daily habits have a significant impact on moods. (NIMH. Nih) It is important for the family and individual to cope by being educated about the disease and it’s effects, to seek support from friends to get encouragement and help whenever it may be needed, make healthy choices when it comes to daily habits of eating, sleeping, and exercising which can help stabilize moods, and also monitoring the own moods for the individual so the problem can be solved before it starts.
The physical effects of bipolar disorder can cause individuals to cope negatively and develop substance abuse problems in an attempt to medicate the symptoms of bipolar disorder. The effects of bipolar disorder can also result in negative productivity like in depressive episodes, but productivity can actually increase during hypomanic episodes. It often leads to emotional instability resulting in relationship loss. Bipolar disorder is a treatable disease. Medication usually is not enough to fully control the symptoms of bipolar disorder.The most effective treatment strategy for bipolar disorder involves a combination of medication, therapy, lifestyle changes, and social support.
It is best to work with experienced psychiatrists when it comes to dealing with Bipolar Disorder. Diagnosis and treatment is often difficult. For safety reasons, medication should be closely monitored. A psychiatrist who is skilled in bipolar disorder treatment can help with the treatment process.
In the past, lithium was the popular mood stabilizer that was usually prescribed.Now, there are a lot of options in medication for someone with bipolar disorder depending on their symptoms and body types. Currently, there are many different ways to treat the disorder such as mood stabilizers called lithium (as used in the past), Depakote, Lamictal, and Tegretol. Antipsychotics, Benzodiazepines, and Antidepressants are also used as treatment in current day. Research currently conducted towards the illness will be used to find better treatment methods and options or possibly even uncover a prevention method.The government has shown its support to bipolar disorder research by passing legislation that allocated more funds to mental illness research and treatment.
Bipolar disorder affects approximately 5. 7 million adult Americans, or about 2. 6% of the U. S.
population age 18 and older every year. The median age for bipolar disorder is 25 years, although the illness can start in early childhood or as late as the 40's and 50's. An equal number of men and women develop bipolar illness and it is found in all ages, races, ethnic groups and social classes.More than two-thirds of people with bipolar disorder have at least one close relative with the illness or with unipolar major depression, indicating that the disease has a heritable component. Even though it affects both men and women equally, women experience more depressed states than men. Bi polar is also the sixth leading cause of disability in the world.
30 percent of people with untreated bipolar disorder commit suicide because they are usually in a depressed state. (DBS Alliance) Bipolar disorder is more likely to affect the children of parents who have the disorder.When one parent has bipolar disorder, the risk to each child is 15 to 30%. When both parents have bipolar disorder, the risk increases to 50 to 75%. (DBS Alliance) When manic, children and adolescents, are more likely to be irritable and prone to destructive outbursts.
When depressed, there may be many physical complaints such as headaches, and stomachaches or tiredness; poor performance in school, irritability, social isolation, and extreme sensitivity to rejection or failure.
