A Basic Insight to Adolescent Bipolar Symptoms and Diagnosis

Adolescent bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness characterized by recurring modes of depression, mania, and/or mixed symptom states. These different episodes cause very unusual and extreme shifts in mood, energy, and behavior that interfere with the adolescent day to day and healthy functioning.

Symptoms

Symptoms of depression and mania in adolescents may manifest themselves through a variety of different behaviors in bipolar 1 and bipolar 2. Manic and depressive states may include alcohol or substance abuse and difficulty with other people.

Mania

Adolescents with mania episodes are more likely to be irritable and prone to destructive outbursts compared to adults.

Depression

The most common physical complaints when depressed are headaches, muscle aches, stomachaches or tiredness. Other signs to look out for are frequent absences from school or poor performance in school. They tend to talk a lot and will want to run away from home, are irritable, always complaining and unexplained crying. Their social life suffers by isolating themselves due to probably their extreme sensitivity, rejection or failure attitude and poor communication skills.

Bipolar Treatment

An adolescent who has a family history of bipolar illness and showing signs  of depression and very severe ADHD-like symptoms with excessive temper outbursts and mood changes should be checked immediately by a psychiatrist or local doctor. It is very important to have a good evaluation done especially when psychostimulant medications are prescribed for ADHD because it can make mania symptoms worse. Some have suggested that ADHD come before a full-blown mania, but there is little evidence on that assumption.

Other Findings

Study from NIMH suggest, that the illness is at least as common among youths as with adults. According to this study, 1% of adolescents ages 14 to 18 were found to have met criteria for bipolar disorder or cyclothymia, a similar but milder mental illness. Compared to adolescents with a history of major depressive disorders, teens with bipolar disorder and those with subclinical symptoms had greater functional impairment and higher rates of their illness reoccurring. Finally this study has highlighted the need to improve and recognize the treatment and prevention of even the milder and subclinical cases of adolescent bipolar disorder.

Protective Environment

Some families do not have a protective environment for those who have a severe disturbance. One is needed, both for the person who is ill and for others around that person. A protective environment is so important to prevent harm to anyone – and everyone in such situations. Before families can seek medication for their bipolar adolescent child -safety – is the first thing that needs to be ensured.

Inner Resources

Psychiatrists often will look for inner resources the patient might have, before resorting to medication. This mental illness has nothing to do with the persons abilities to handle their illness nor is it a sign of strength or weakness. Usually a protective environment will allow psychiatric to use whatever inner resources the patient might have, especially when mental facilities is not there or the right medication is not available.

Ongoing Problem

One of the major problems continually faced by families with adolescent bipolar is the availability of mental health institutions and proper medications and good doctors to diagnose the illness properly. But the most feared one is the stigma that goes with this mental illness which can be ongoing and downgrading.