Bipolar Disorder

So I just learned something new this week and that is that depression can be either unipolar or bipolar disorder.I'm sure you all have heard of bipolar disorder but what exactly is it all about, we'll be covering this subject more in depth today.

Bipolar disorder is also known as manic-depressive disorder and it consists of severe alterations in mood, energy, thinking, and behavior. The previous mentioned alternate from one extreme to another between depression and mania.The image below demonstrates the two extremes I just mentioned.

Let's further break things down to get a better understanding of what mania and depression involve.

Signs and Symptoms of Mania include

• Feeling extremely optimistic or extremely irritable
• Unrealistic grandiose beliefs
• Speaking rapidly
• Having no rest, yet feeling energetic
• Highly distractible
• Reckless behavior
• Racing thoughts
• Impaired judgement

Signs and symptoms of bipolar depression include

• Thoughts of death and suicide
• Can't experience pleasure
• Fatigue 
• Loss of energy
• Weight changes
• Sluggishness
• Feelings of worthlessness
• 
  

For those of you who didn't know there are actually two types of bipolar disorder; bipolar I disorder and bipolar II disorder. Bipolar I Disorder consists of full-blown episodes of mania.These episodes can last for days and are so severe that they require hospital intervention. It usually also involves a severe depression state. Bipolar II Disorder involve milder manic phases (Hypomania).Bipolar disorder does run in family but the exact genes that cause it have not yet been identified.

Despite the effort to find a cure to this disorder, researchers have not yet found one.There are treatments for it though, but know that because it is a lifelong disorder, long-term treatments are needed. Treatment includes:

• Mood stabilizing medication
• Antidepressant medication
• Psychotherapy- Cognitive behavioral therapy, Family-focused therapy, Interpersonal and social rythm therapy.
• Electroconvulsive Therapy

Now, I can only imagine how hard it can be to live with a bipolar disorder but let's not forget of their caregivers whose lives have also been dramatically affected by such disorder. It can be very hard to cope with a loved one's bipolar symptoms. For that reason I applaud each and every one of you out there who manage to take care of someone with bipolar disorder.



http://www.helpguide.org/mental/bipolar_disorder_symptoms_treatment.htm
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/bipolar-disorder/index.shtml