Bipolar disorder is a mental disorder where a patient experiences extreme mood swings. One minute they can experience extreme mania and the next they are depressed. In severe cases a patient may have suicidal tendencies. If these trends sound familiar to you because you may be affected by the disease or know someone affected by it don’t worry, you’re not alone. Some Bipolar disease facts show that more than 22 million Americans suffer from Bipolar, but continual research and advances are being gained on the disease and the good news is that Bipolar disease can be controlled to a certain extent.

So apart from what has already been mentioned, let me list down the myths about Bipolar, some bipolar disease facts and what kind of treatments can be used for the disease.

Myths:

• Bipolar is only a mood disorder– Bipolar disease fact is that it is a mood disorder but it also affects the ability to reason and perform mental tasks and even disrupts sleep patterns.
• Mania is an extreme high so it must mean happiness, which is a good thing –Mania can make a person take bad risks, have sleep disorders, and psychotic thoughts.
• Bipolar disorder can be caused by drugs and alcohol abuse – Bipolar disease fact is that the disorder stems from our genes and life experiences which determine our capabilities to handle stressors in our lives. This myth probably originated from the very real fact that those with bipolar disease resort to greater use of alcohol and drugs. For any other person without bipolar, alcohol and drugs is not a contributing factor.
• There’s only one type of bipolar disease/disorder – There’s actually Bipolar I and II, Cyclothymic bipolar disorder, rapid cycling bipolar disorder and mixed bipolar disorder.

Truths:

• Bipolar is also known as Manic-depressive illness
• Only about 10-15% of all Bipolar sufferers have committed suicide over time
• Those suffering from bipolar disease can live normal lives and hold down jobs.
• Medication dosages vary from patient to patient. There may be side effects on the first dosage; from there you can work something out with your doctor for a dosage that is best suited for you.

Treatment:

The best treatment for bipolar disease is medication and psychotherapy and trying one’s best to live a balanced and healthy lifestyle mentally, physically, emotionally and even spiritually. Nonetheless, I know some people who have done away completely with medication because their religious leaders have condemned them for not having enough faith for a healing by being on meds. But a wise friend said that God provides the tools to combat the diseases we face in our lives. Medication is of great assistance when taken responsibly and at the appropriate dosage and time.

If you know someone with bipolar disease, the best help you can give is to be understanding and patient and encouraging. Ensure that they take their medication, have good nutrition and rest. I hope these bipolar disease facts have helped you in one way or another and I wish you well as you try and combat the disorder. Should you wish to read up more on bipolar disorder, check out what others have to say about it on

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The Brain

There is strong evidence that bipolar disorder causes have a lot to do with brain chemistry. More specifically, doctors believe that three chemicals in the brain known as neurotransmitters (noradrenalin, serotonin, and dopamine) in the brain are at least partly responsible for the disease when they are not balanced correctly. These neurotransmitters are known to affect the psychotic mood of individuals and when not working properly, can cause severe depression and bipolar disorder.

Lifestyle and Environment

Lifestyle and environment play an important role in bipolar disorder causes. For example, it is shown that children of bipolar parents and those who live through stressful living standards, alcoholic parents, and parents with severe mood swings, money problems, and abuse in the family can all contribute to brain dysfunctions including bipolar disorder.

Depression and mania

In this mental illness we describe the moods as depression and mania or low and high with hypomania somewhere in the middle.

* depression: is the experience of low feeling – to the point of depression and
* mania: is the high feeling
* hypomania: slightly less severe of the mania symptoms

Both extremes of depression and mania symptoms of bipolar disorder have a number of other associated symptoms. Unlike the simple mood swings that we go through every day, bipolar disorder extreme episodes can last a few hours to several weeks or longer. These high and low phases of the mental illness are often so severe that they interfere with the patient’s everyday life.

The pattern of mood swings also varies widely between each person going through bipolar. For example, some patients will only have a couple of what we call episodes throughout their life, and will be stable in between, while many others will go through many episodes throughout their lifetime.

Treatment

Things such as lack of sleep and unhealthy diets can also greatly contribute to the risk of developing the bipolar disorder. Treatments for the disease can be experimented with but there is no fix all cure. A healthy diet, a positive and consistent lifestyle, and even therapy can help to reduce the symptoms of bipolar disorder.

It is important to discuss any symptoms of the disease with a doctor as soon as they become apparent in order to help decrease mood swings and other problems that come along with the disease.

Manic

Manic episodes are marked by extreme highs generally or can be periods of irritability. Of course, everyone experiences times when they feel on high or a little cranky but for those struggling with bipolar these episodes will experience these emotions for an extended period of time (at least a week) and it will interfere with occupational or social situations detrimentally.  Manic episodes may be marked by:

* Grandiosity
* Insomnia
* Racing thoughts
* Extreme talking
* Distractible
* Extreme activities- sexual, shopping, thrill seeking or risky behaviour

Depressive

During depressive episodes usually last at least two weeks and are marked by a depressed mood or lack of interest in anything pleasurable. Bipolar depression will be a variance from the person's normal mood and school, work and social interactions will be negatively impacted. Signs of a major depressive episode:

* Hypersomnia – sleeping too much each day
* Insomnia
* Feelings of worthlessness
* Fatigue
* Inappropriate guilt on a daily basis
* Suicidal thoughts
* Weight loss or weight gain without effort (5% or more of total body weight)

Medication

There are several medication options for people struggling with bipolar including lithium a mood stabilizer and lamotrigine for managing depression. Lithium is one of the only drugs that has been shown to reduce suicidal tendencies common during bipolar depression. You should discuss all medications carefully with your physician and make sure you take it as prescribed. This is one very important factor of dealing with bipolar disorder. If you are having trouble with a particular medication – discusses it with your doctor so that you can adjust the dosage or change medications under their supervision.

Therapy

Psychotherapy in conjunction with medication is the most recommended treatment option. Very seldom will medication alone be effective at helping someone struggling with bipolar. The best treatment plan is one that offers you medical and psychiatric care. You will need to learn how to identify when an episode is coming on, deal with the disorder as a whole, regulate your mood more effectively and improve the relationships around you.

Conclusion

Until recently bipolar has carried a stigma. Many people delay treatment because they want to avoid being labeled as crazy, unreliable or even dangerous. New therapies and medications are slowly changing the perception of this disorder. It also helps that well-known faces are coming forward and admitting to struggling with bipolar as well, for instance it was just recently released the famous actress Catherine Zeta Jones is dealing with the disorder. You can live a healthy and relatively normal life in spite of dealing with bipolar depression and manic episodes. Work closely with your medical team and make informed decisions about your treatment plan.

Who is helped by bipolar support groups?

Bipolar support groups are helpful for the families as well as the patient. By talking with others experiencing the same things, the support system kicks in and lets you know you are not stranded all by yourself in the situation.

Benefits of bipolar support groups as a patient

At times like these, it helps to know that you are not the only one experiencing the problem. As a patient, you realize you are not alone and that there is help available. You may possibly find help that you did not know was available to you. When you begin to see that there are other people that feel the same way you do, it helps.

Many sufferers of bipolar disorder feel that they are all alone. One of the symptoms of the condition is a feeling of helplessness or hopelessness. In talking to other bipolar sufferers, you see that there are ways to combat the onset of the extreme highs and lows it brings. Medication which is part of bipolar treatment can do only so much. Coming to a realization that many people live with bipolar disorder is the first step to recovery.

Benefits of bipolar support groups as a family member

Bipolar disorder affects people around the patient just as much as the actual patient. Sometimes, the patient can become violent, combative or even suicidal in extreme cases. The stress of dealing with these things can take its toll on you. As a result, the closest people to them may start to feel isolated and helpless.

Bipolar support groups can assist you in learning how to deal with your loved one's condition. The realization that some of the things they might say or do are not intentional. Many times, the actions of a bipolar sufferer stem directly from the chemical imbalance commonly associated with the disorder.

You may be surprised to find that there are more people going through the same things that you are; some have even worse situations. Together, you learn new ways to deal with the day to day of living with or caring for a loved one with bipolar disorder.

The leaders of bipolar support groups are usually individuals that have successfully overcome the condition themselves or helped a family member get past it. Either way, the folks you come into contact with have personal life experience in this area. They are there to help.

Where do I find bipolar support groups?

Most local hospitals have bipolar support groups available. You just need to ask. Alternatively, you could search for them online at your favorite search engine. The local results will tell you where the groups are located, what they offer, who leads or sponsors them and give you directions to get there.

Most insurance coverage has contingencies for mental disorders of this nature and will cover the treatment, even if only partially.

Not all children who experience bipolar symptoms at their adolescent stage have the same  symptoms in their early childhood. It has only recently been revealed by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry that up to 1/3 ( one third) of the nearly three and a half million children and teens with depression in America alone may actually be going through the early stages of the disorder. Many doctors and mental health professional only recently have recognized and treated bipolar in very young children, but because of lack of good information this mental problem is still an under-recognized illness.

Those with bipolar manic disorder usually rotate between severe high and low mood swings. These shifting in moods can generate unfavorable behaviors with short spans of wellness between high (manic) and low (depression) episodes. There have been some cases when young people do go through both extremes (high and low) at the same time, but these are rare cases. Parents who have  children with bipolar manic disorder often say that their children are quite unpredictable, going between being aggressive/silly, depressed or withdrawn to very happy in a few minutes. It must be advised that children with bipolar are at much greater risk for other mental problems like attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and anxiety disorders. These other disorders confuse diagnosis of bipolar and contribute to the many wrong treatment in a lot of young children.

Signs and Symptoms of Bipolar

Not all young children with  bipolar manic disorder have all the symptoms listed below.In many instances  children with the illness are likely to have come from  families with the disorder. It is important that in case a child or friend you know is trying to cope with any symptoms listed below for one or two weeks, ask them to get professional help immediately.

Bipolar Manic Disorder Symptoms

 Very high levels of energy. Little sleep without being tired.
 Severe mood swings – from very happy to angry or aggressive.
 Unrealistic self-esteem – thinks highly of oneself.
 Involvement in multiple projects and activities.
 Talks very fast and a lot – changes topics too quickly and hard to be interrupted.
 Racing thoughts or strong feeling to keep talking and  very easily distracted.
 Risk-takers – attempting daredevil stunts
 Abuse drugs and alcohol with high sexual libido

Depressive Signs

 Regular sadness or crying without any reason
 Prefer to be by themselves
 Low energy levels, no enthusiasm or motivation
 Feeling unimportant with lots of guilt feelings
 Very sensitive and does not like to fail
 Sleeps or eats a lot
 Complaints of headaches and stomach aches
 Continuous self-destructive behaviors like suicide

What Should You Do?

The good news to mothers is that bipolar manic disorder can be controlled with early diagnosis and treatment. A full treatment plan should be put up by the local relevant health professionals for family members and friends to include psychotherapy and medication.

Things to Consider When Treating Bipolar Disorder

Treating bipolar manic depressive disorder in young children, middle aged people, expecting or sickly females need uncommon considerations the moment they take in their bipolar medications. There are a good number of benefits of taking prescribed drugs on a developing or deteriorating human body. Because studies around this mental illness is still continuing, a lot is still left for us to know and learn.

Treating Younger Children

There are actually numerous treatment options that can surely assist young children with regards to bipolar medications. However, any forms of therapy, attitudinal treatment, social training, family treatment plan, along with group counseling ought to be considered prior to choosing the recommended medicines for young children. The actual treatment chosen regarding little ones will be dependent on the analysis as well as the child’s preference.

Children really should be supervised and watched that they really are in fact swallowing all their prescribed medicine and with the correct amount. Long term rewards regarding a number of bipolar medicinal drugs in small children are not even known, particularly with recently produced drugs.

Aging adults Worries

Old people could occasionally and unintentionally consume more bipolar medications simply because they fail to remember that they have already consumed the prescribed amount and so take on an additional allocation. The utilization of seven-day box can certainly be of great help.

The aging population, along with their precious buddies, relations and care givers will be required to pay particular attention and also watch for undesirable (unfavorable) mental and physical reactions to prescribed medications. Due to the fact they frequently acquire additional drugs (such as medicines for flue or headache, over-the-counter medicine for example aspirin) the likelihood of unfavorable reactions is great for the aged people.

Final Advice

Just like any kind of medicine, bipolar medicines will not deliver the exact same influence on everybody. As far as medicine is concerned, lots of patients will react much better to one type of medicine and require much larger dosage than others. After saying all that, a lot of people encounter frustrating bad results, whilst other folks do not. There are factors to consider like peoples age, their gender male/female, entire body measurements, biological makeup, physical health issues and other medicinal treatments. Also bad eating habits, unhealthy way of life like cigarette smoking, illicit drugs and alcohol consumption are also some of the reasons which could hinder the success of bipolar medications in a person.

Bipolar In Simple Terms

The most excellent way to go through and understand this mental illness is its mood shifting features. This illness can change a person’s moods, ideas, emotions from one minute to the next. Consequently they could be feeling fantastic now and feeling horrible the next minute. Some of the more serious symptoms of this ailment is the lower end of depression which can make patient want to commit suicide.

Change of Lifestyle

It is important you make positive changes to your way of life besides the bipolar treatment. Unhealthy eating and substance abuse must be avoided because this can be detrimental to your health especially if you are on a bipolar treatment. Physical exercises is also recommended to help defend against undesirable tension and keep you healthy.

Early Prevention

You will need to understand that it is important to deal with the situation right away when symptoms are experienced. If you don't address it as fast as possible and feel that it will disappear, the illness may just get worse and turn out to be deadly, unpleasant or nerve-racking. To avoid any kind of personal or perhaps financial hardships due to the illness you must ensure the situation is diagnosed early with the correct bipolar treatments by your doctor.

Bipolar Treatments

Prescription medication is probably the most typical bipolar treatment options. Though merely consuming prescribed drugs for your ailment is not going to ensure any manic or perhaps depressive occurrence, medications definitely aid a great deal. In conjunction with a balanced way of life, therapies and assistance from relatives and buddies, people need to watch apparent changes by checking with the symptoms.

Continuous Bipolar Treatment is Important

One important thing to keep in mind is that you simply must not quit your bipolar treatment when you feel better. It is a continual treatment and if you decide to stop therapy the symptoms may come back and it can be extremely serious and harmful. Always consult with a professional with regards to any changes you may like to do with your bipolar treatments.

Expert Help

Should you or a family member is going through these kinds of swift changes in moods and are beginning to impact your daily life or people surrounding you, it might be time to look for a specialist. Many people are afflicted by this disorder and are puzzled by the way they definitely feel. Acquiring advice can help you understand you're one of many and don't need to experience these manageable emotions.

Closing Words

In conclusion, treating bipolar early is vital in the control of bipolar. While the use of medication as bipolar treatment may not take away the illness completely it will at least control it from getting worse. Should you think you have the disorder get a medical diagnosis from your local mental health physician so you can be given the correct bipolar treatments for your bipolar symptoms.

What Causes Bipolar?

To date no one has been able to pinpoint the real cause of this mental disorder, bipolar. While studies have been made on the subject, two things mental health professionals are sure about – there is a brain imbalance and an environmental factor to this mental illness.

Mania Symptoms

People with mania have unusual increase in energy level and symptoms are:
• Little need for sleep.
• Talkative with lots going on in the mind.
• Hard to pay attention and easily distracted.
• Bad sense of judgment, going on spending sprees even borrowing large sums of cash.
• Substance abuse -alcohol, depressants, illicit drugs, sleeping pills.
• Aggressive, intolerant and intrusive behaviors which can be out of control.
• Delusional and high thinking of oneself.
• Unusually high sexual libido.

Hypomania Episode

Hypomania episode is not in itself a disorder, but a category or part of bipolar disorder. Its main recognized signs are very high/raised, extensive and also annoying temperament which can last days and nights which are distinct from the normal dispositions. Possible symptoms include:
• Inflated self-worth and high thinking of oneself.
• Little need for sleep.
• Very talkative and easily distracted.
• Full of great ideas, with so many crazy ideas.
• Abuse of alcohol, depressants, illicit drugs or sleeping pills.
• Loves pleasurable activities like buying for the sake of buying, socializing, sexual activities or getting into stupid business dealings.

People with hypomania are not serious enough to cause significant hurt in their social or work to require them going to hospital. One of the real problems with these people is they often take illicit drugs for self medication. While prescribed drugs can cause side effects, drugs that are not prescribed by medical authorities can do irreversible damage. Those who go through hippomanic episode are often clinically diagnosed with a type of bipolar disorder.

Difficulty of Bipolar Diagnosis

Even for health professionals, trying to diagnose bipolar is not an easy task, because other mental health issues can also be present. The inconsistency of the illness among patients is another depressing problem; because some patients may go through a little mania/depression others experience mostly manic or depressive mood behaviors.

Early Treatment

Bipolar, if left neglected for too long, tend to deteriorate and become severe mania or depressive symptoms. So anybody going through any symptoms mentioned above should consult their family doctor. We must always remember that early treatment is important about this mental illness.

History

Bipolar disorder was actually conceptualized by Emil Kraeplin. As early as 200 A.D., mood problems and manic depression symptoms have been referenced in history. This health problem was suspected to be caused by bad blood called black bile. 100 years ago, the disease was described as manic-depressive insanity. Finally, by 19th century, terms like biphasic illness, dual-form insanity and circular insanity was used to refer to the illness.

Many of our historical figures as well as current personalities have suffered this condition. Hence, their accomplishments in successfully managing and overcoming the disease should inspire the current sufferers of bipolar disorder to fight and rule out the disease.

Common Manic Depression Symptoms

The most obvious red flag of bipolar disorder is the dramatic and often unpredictable mood swings. It is characterized by extreme mood shifts, which are exhibited by mania and depression symptoms. Manic depression symptoms include excitement, excessive happiness, restlessness, racing thoughts, increased energy, high sex drive and unusual tendency to make grand yet unattainable plans. Manic depression symptoms include anxiety, sadness, irritability, uncontrollable crying, increased need for sleep, loss of energy, difficulty making decisions and increased risk of suicide or death. Usually, the bipolar symptoms experienced by a patient vary depending on his type of bipolar disorder.

The types of Bipolar disorder vary depending on the degree of episodes of mania or depression experienced by the patient. A bipolar I patient may experience at least one manic episode in his life, but is accompanied with abnormal behaviors that disrupt his/her daily life. A bipolar II patient experiences mood cycling between high (mania) and low (depression); however, his "up" moods never reach full-on mania. A rapid cycling bipolar type patient is one who experiences four or more episodes of mania or depression in a year. Mixed bipolar patients experience moods alternating between elevated and depressed over a period of time. In some cases, the patient may even experience both mania and manic depression symptoms simultaneously or experience both types of bipolar disorder symptom in rapid sequence.

Diagnosis

In truth, there is no one test that can indicate bipolar disorder. Patients are usually diagnosed based on their comprehensive medical, family and mental health information. To qualify for diagnosis, the patient must experience at least one manic episode of bipolar disorder symptom during his lifetime or that the patient must have experienced symptoms of mania that lasted at least a week unless it is a mixed episode. Aside from your family doctor, consulting other health practitioners like mental health specialists, psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health counselors is helpful in educating you more about the disease.