Knowing More About Bipolar in Children

What is Bipolar?

Bipolar disorder is a definition that is used for people who have periods of elevated moods and can also become depressed for periods of time too. The term bipolar is also called manic depression because of the two opposite extremes. Bipolar is diagnosed by a psychiatrist based on moods that are verified as hyper meaning high or hypo meaning lower. Manic is a loose term because those with bipolar disorder often have thoughts of unusual psychosis. Bipolar in Children has become a new problem for parents to deal with since so much information has been given national attention. Bipolar disorder children have trouble concentrating and often feel defeated or depressed.

Signs of Bipolar in Children?

Since signs of bipolar can be misdiagnosed by people who think that a person is bipolar just because of the way they act are often misread. There is a general amount of time that certain mood swings last, people with elevated moods or those to the extreme such as adrenalin junkies, moods are elevated, when moods are decreased or fall below normal levels of functioning they are called depressed. Moods are factors in how we act or function in a certain situation, it’s when the mood is not removed from the situation that we find signs of bipolar. There is a pendulum that swings both ways when diagnosing people. They have both moods as even, extremely hyper or extremely hypo. Bipolar in Children is better recognized because normal mood swings are apparent but when they are extreme parents can see changes in a child’s behavior and moods based on daily life.

Overlapping of Bipolar Disorder Children Symptoms.

Moods affect everyone around you, if you are happy and everybody is down then a majority of moods will sway yours. Those who are depressed or sad while everybody is happy will allow their mood to shift too. People often throw the term bipolar around because they think that a person who can be happy one day and sad the next. There are some warning sign of bipolar disorder that people need to be aware of, when somebody is feeling down or depressed and talks of suicide, that’s a warning sign. Rarely are people who happy have such thoughts, the normal functioning person has normal moods. Bipolar disorder children are often thought of as lazy or too hyper, diagnosis of their moods helps doctors to find out the extreme between each.

Because bipolar disorder is often linked with other symptoms such as ADHD children are lumped into a category that defines them by how they manage their moods without medication. Parents should be aware that people who are quick to diagnose children are not always professionals. Find out what the criteria is to be bipolar, concentration problems or mood swings during puberty are not symptoms of bipolar. It’s a sticky label and once adhesives are used it’s hard to undo.

Diagnosis.

Diagnosing Bipolar in Children can be done in a doctor’s office. There is no blood test that can be taken to prove it exists though, many diagnosis are done by social workers, nurses and clinical psychologists. Parents who fear that their child may be bipolar can do an evaluation at home and base it on their moods during certain situations. Eating, sleeping and non reactive moods are the best indicators for parents to look for if they think their child is bipolar. Moods can last for minutes, hours or days, it depends on what triggers the mood and how long it last.

Children who are bipolar are not considered lost. Parents have many resources at their fingertips and a child who deals with bipolar disorder can lead a normal life. There are organizations that are designed to help parents with resources and support groups that help them cope with this all too common diagnosis. Parents should not blame themselves or the child, knowing early on is better than finding out too late. Children need advocates and parents are the best way to help them function when they don’t know what to do.