Bipolar II or Bipolar 2

Not like bipolar I, bipolar II does not involve manic episodes. There are four types of Bipolar Disorders, bipolar I, bipolar II, bipolar NOS and Cyclothymic Disorder. Bipolar II Disorder is marked by at least one severe episode of depression and at least a hippo manic symptom moving into psychotic mania – this according to – DSM-IV-TR – the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Between bipolar 1 and bipolar II, bipolar 2 can be quite difficult to diagnose, because bipolar II is similar to comorbid (combined) anxiety and depression.

How common can we Expect Bipolar II?

Most experts believe that bipolar II is the most common form of Bipolar, with researchers even saying that it affects more than five percent of the whole population. While Bipolar Disorder may initially develop in late adolescence or early adulthood , some children may have bipolar symptoms as early as age two only later to be diagnosed as bipolar.

Should we expect Different kinds of Bipolar II?

When 4 or more mood episodes of bipolar illness happening within one year period, that person can be in the group of a rapid-cycling bipolar disorder. But, lots of experts consider this to be quite a conservative definition, because some individuals experience several mood episodes within a week, or even in a day. When patients have these changes daily or weekly it is said that they are going through ultra rapid-cycling. Much more common in women than in men – rapid cycling have the tendency to develop much later during the period of the illness and is very difficult to diagnose and treat.

Symptoms of Bipolar II Disorder

Another way of looking at bipolar II disorder is- it is a milder form of a bipolar disorder, which includes cases of depression that interchange with hypomania not mania symptoms. Some of the signs are:

• having a continuous, high or irritable mood, but the absence of psychosis, or loss of touch with reality, found in severe manic symptoms.

• At least one severe episode of depression, and one hippo manic episode. Patients with bipolar II symptoms are not psychotic with delusions and hallucinations.

Bipolar II Treatment

Although bipolar II is probably not caused by traumatic experiences, such factors as abuse can affect the recovery of a bipolar II victim . It is good to approach bipolar II with both medication and therapy for full recovery. When these two are combined together – bipolar medication and cognitive behavioral therapy, victims of bipolar II respond quickly and successfully. With early treatment, bipolar I and II patients can live a more healthy and normal lives and also attain successful relationships with their loved ones.

The Use of ECT – Electroshock

Electroshock (ECT) was first introduced in the 30s, but due the bad publicity of ECT therapy, and the negative portrayals in movie, electroshock therapy frightened so many people after that and has come to be used as a last resort for bipolar treatment. Today, however, ECT has been refined and is becoming very popular.

Treating patients with ECT treatment is quite useful when:

1. Bipolar medication is not working.

2. There is an urgent needed to intervene, e.g. suicide risk or severe cases of psychosis.

3. The use of bipolar medication may be too risky, e.g. women who are pregnant.

With the use of modern ECT techniques, the risk of memory problems has been reduced significantly. The only drawback with this type of treatment is, it is quite expensive and often requires more treatments.

Anti Convulsant Drugs

• Valproate (Depakote): is and anti-convulsant medicine and used as a mood-stabilizer.

• Depakote: first approved in 1995 by the Food and Drug Aadministration (FDA) for treatment of mania. Doctors use this medicine on stubborn mania symptoms.

• Seroquel: brand name for Quetiapine was approved by the FDA to treat both bipolar mania and bipolar depression. The only problem with this medication is the side effects, which many people find difficult to tolerate.

• Prozac and Lexapro: increasingly unpopular because it is both dangerous, ineffective and can trigger bipolar mania symptoms.

Using diet – as  Bipolar Treatment

With the problem of fast foods and what have you in our food; diet and nutrition has been increasingly recognized as an effective way of treating bipolar depressive symptoms. You can discover for yourself the power of using diet for stabilizing moods and weights. Some proven natural supplements in managing bipolar depression symptoms are:

1. Fish oil: A study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry found that – Omega-3 fatty acid which is found in fish oil, is good for treating bipolar depression.

2. Folic acid: For building white blood cells – These acids can be found in leafy vegetables, certain fruits, liver, liver products, baker's yeast and some breakfast cereals.

3. Inositol: member of the vitamin B complex and high concentration of inositol can be found in grains, beans, nuts and fruits.

Transcranial (TMS) magnetic stimulation.

Magnetic stimulation (TMS) is when strong magnetic pulses are induced with weak electric currents on specific parts of the human brain tissue. Not like the ECT method, patients always remain awake and alert because there is no use of anesthetic. The benefits of this type of treatment is, the magnetic pulses are not strong enough to cause seizures, and secondly memories are not lost.

Bipolar treatments for bipolar

When on a bipolar treatment always consult your doctor for anything, from changing your bipolar medication to even changing your doctor. There are lots of bipolar treatment available but what may work for some may not work for others. The word we always emphasize is be PATIENT and be HONEST with your medication.

Around the world, medication is the standard and most proven treatment for bipolar. Some patients can be maintained on a single drug, but many others have to use a combination of prescribed medications, some call "med cocktail", to stabilize the disorder. These drugs depend on a few factors, the person's unique mood symptoms, their body and brain makeup and some unforeseen factors like other medicine being taken for other conditions. Here are some resources and important information on understanding these prescribed drugs.

• Zyprexa – Olanzapine

This was the first FDA (Food and Drug Administration approved antipsychotic medication for the treatment of bipolar mania. Research has shown that it is in line with Lithium for the use of mixed episodes. However, weight gain is the side effect of this medication.

• Risperidone (Risperdal)

Risperidone has a similar effect as Lithium. This medicine works well for a long-term stability. Side effects such as weight gain can be a concern.

• Clozapine (Clozaril)

Usually works to reduce bipolar symptoms and has been very successful in the treatment of difficult cases. The only concern is that it may reduce blood cell count.

• Quetiapine (Seroquel)

This is a fairly new medicine which is used to treat intense mania and rapid-moods cycles.

• Ziprasidone (Geodon)

Recently used medication for bipolar with similar results is also used for very severe mania symptoms. It can have a swift effect on the symptoms.

• Valproate (Depakote)

Approved by the FDA in 1995, it became the first anticonvulsant drug for treating bipolar mania. For those who are going through rapid cycle, this drug is often used as a first line treatment.

• Carbamazepine (Tegretol)

Not yet approved by FDA to treat mania, many have found its side effects very difficult to endure.

• Lamotrigine (Lamictal)

This is a second-generation drug to treat convulsions, while it is still in the experimental stage, it is fairly good alternative medication.

• Gabapentin (Neurontin)

This drug comes under the anticonvulsant drugs and is mostly used with other prescribed medications to bring a more desired result.

• Topiramate (Topamax)

This is the newest anticonvulsant in the market, which goes together with therapy. Although it may seem to create some problems with the mind functioning, it has no side effect especially with weight gain.

• Olanzapine (Zyprexa)

The first antipsychotic medication to be approved by the FDA for the treatment of mania. It is quite as effective as Lithium to treat mixed episodes of bipolar, but weight gain is the main problem with this drug.

• Risperidone (Risperdal)

Similar to Lithium, it seems to work very well in long-term stability, but weight gain is a great concern with this medication.

• Clozapine (Clozaril)

This medicine is well known for its speed to reduce the bipolar symptoms. It has been very successful in the treatment of difficult cases. The only concern is it may bring down the count of blood cells.

• Quetiapine (Seroquel)

Seroquel is fairly new, used in severe mania and rapid-cycling. The side effects include dry mouth constipation and many more.

• Ziprasidone (Geodon)

Used for severe mania symptoms, it has been proven to act swiftly to stabilize bipolar mania. The side effects can be constipation, vomiting and for women the stopping of menstrual period to difficulty getting pregnant.

Final Words

As with any bipolar medication, most people do tolerate it quite well with no side effects. But if side effects do happen, please consult your doctor or a healthcare provider.

We all love to spend money and experience the joy of buying some good or a beautiful something like a car, a house or anything good for our selves or members of the family. It is normal that we enjoy the fruits of our labor once in a while by indulging in a few things, while living within our means. But, some people can have an obsession with spending and running into huge debts, which may look innocent and seem unimportant. On one side they like to spend, and on the other they are crying out for help with the huge debts they have accumulated. If you or members of the family are spending so much money and are worried about your spending be aware, because manic spending is a well-known side effect of uncontrolled bipolar disorder. For many, the formula “bipolar mania = money problems + headaches,” is quite real.

Red Flags

One of the most common bipolar mania symptoms is impulsive and irrational spending. Dr Ronald R. Fieve, an expert, describes bipolar excessive spending in his book as “the lifestyle of the manic-depressive who is in a high tends to be a glorious scattering of money". These wild spending sprees can take many forms;

1. Shopping Sprees

Some bipolar children with  mania symptoms spend money on stupid little gadgets just for the sake of spending, or people with credit cards will go on shopping sprees, buying crazy manic purchases which we can call funny and outrages like 4 i Pods. One to be used in the morning, one for midday, the third for the afternoon and the remaining one for the evening. These people may go on wild shopping sprees with a self-medicating overtone.

2. Crazy Investment
Because of the grandiose crazy thoughts, these people will go into crazy investments thinking that nothing can go wrong. With these people there is no sense of logic and risk because their mind is blocked, all they are thinking about are these big crazy ideas.

3. Expensive Gifts
Have you heard about the car dealer who gave a car each for his staff as a gift? Well, he was suffering from bipolar mania. The buying of these extravagant gifts can be for families, friends or for charity. They usually do this because of the need to impress that they are a good person.

4. High Sex Libido
Because, bipolar mania symptoms also comes with the acting out of this strong sexual urges, on some very distressing scenarios bipolar mania patients are known to spend large sums of money on travel, hotel accommodation, pornography, prostitution, champagne, lingerie, and on any emotional outlet they get their hands on. What makes this scenario worse is, most do not have the money to pay for all these.

5. Gambling
This is a high addiction outlet, gambling to the point of losing everything. This comes in the form of horse racing, online poker and Las Vegas type of gambling.

What can you do?

The variations of these forms of mania episode are endless. And as much as you can, take cash, credit cards and ATM cards and put it somewhere safe. If you think they are out of control, consider taking their car keys and hiding it, which they may not like, but it may mean fewer headaches in the future. The second one is get them to take their medication or seek a doctor for diagnoses. It is better to be paying very little now on bipolar medication than loosing large sums of money on dept accumulated during the mania episodes.

No one likes to be a bipolar victim but lots of people count themselves lucky being married to a person even though they are showing symptoms of the disease. Some of the most successful people in this world are bipolar. But also on the other side of the coin are people who are unlucky. They are either victims of bipolar mania or they themselves are the victims of abuse because of the disorder.

Mania and Promiscuity

With severe symptoms, people with the mania illness are capable of destroying you no matter how strong and capable you are, because they use your emotions against you and they can turn very cold and destructive very easily. A lot of well intentioned people have gone into relationships thinking and believing it cannot happen to them only to learn a few years later they have become the latest victim. This mental illness is horrific and the manic symptoms can be really destructive to a relationship.

Signs to look out for in a Relationship

These people when luring the opposite sex can be too good to be true, for they can be sweet, compassionate and tell you everything you want to hear. Because of the high sexual thoughts they are going through, they can be found visiting strip clubs and flirting with other opposite sex they encounter. Even though your partner may not have a history of promiscuous affairs, bipolar manias’ very symptom of high sex libido prompts them to look for attention or highs elsewhere. The worst thing about all this is the lies to cover up other lies that have been committed and they do not show signs of guilt. Well, that is bipolar at its worst. Many have suggested that those who go around telling lies, cheating, and stealing are bipolar manic. There may be some truth into that.

Extremist High Mood Swings

There are those who have been plagued with extreme mood swings. People think it's controllable, but its not. When they go through intense highs, everything is fantastic and they are the life of the party as long as no one does anything to annoy them. A harmless joke can set a chain reaction with verbal insult and even fists flying. With these people everything and anything can stimulate them. They can even go for days without sleeping, because their mind is running wild with interesting things to do. Spending money is like throwing water around. They can be full of plans without the slightest regard for work or money.

The Extreme Low

Depressive episode usually follows the highs, and can go on for weeks or months for some. These are periods of low to no energy whatsoever. Usually when patients are going through this period they have no confidence and their self worth or self esteem suffers. Because of these depressed thoughts and feelings many prefer to be confined to their bedroom.

Be Clear

Doctors are just human and can make mistakes in diagnosing a mental disorder either bipolar mania or bipolar depression. Doctors can only act on what has been told to them or on what they know from their experiences in the profession. It is important that you as a patient reveal all the symptoms you are experiencing or convey to them parts they are overlooking. If you are not clear you may end up under or over diagnosed which can lead to more complications.

What Really is Bipolar Mania

As the name would imply, bipolar mania revolves around the manic (up) phase of bipolar disorder. To those with a cursory understanding of the condition, the assumption here is that mania is “good” since it is the opposite of depression. However, bipolar mania comes with many risks since it can dramatically influence behavior in a very negative way. For example, a person in manic phase may become impulsive and go on a massive shopping spree. The end result of this is the person now is in debt for thousands of dollars and would never have made the purchases if not suffering from a bipolar mania phase.

The Different Stages of Bipolar Mania

Not all forms of bipolar mania are extreme. The mild “up” swings a person may feel are known as hypomania. Again, this is the mild form of mania where the person is awake, alive, and upbeat. However, it is not a permanent condition and the person can swing into a severe depressive of manic stage in a relatively short period of time.

All Out Mania

Full bipolar mania can contain varying degrees of risk. It can lead to impulsive and erratic behavior such as excessive talking, increased sex drive, restlessness, and an inflated opinion of the self. Such behavior can seriously undermine social interactions. However, these symptoms can be dealt with. But, there are other more serious symptoms that can prove very dangerous.

Complete bipolar mania can be a very scary state of mind to be in. When the mind reaches a thoroughly manic stage, the mind may become confused and disoriented thoughts race almost incoherently through the person’s mind. High anxiety and paranoia can set in. Worst of all, it is during the manic stage that an individual may entertain suicidal thoughts. This is why it is very important that the condition of bipolar mania is taken serious. It possesses far too many risks to be overlooked.

Bipolar Treatment Options

Bipolar treatment needs to be done by a professional in order to reverse its negative aspects. The most common means of bipolar treatment are counseling, therapy, and out patient prescription care. In general, the results are often very positive and the serious symptoms of bipolar mania can be curtailed.

Of course, education on the subject can significantly increase one’s ability to overcome the pangs of bipolar disorder. This also helps remove the stigma associated with the disorder. Thought there may not be a full cure for bipolar medically, bipolar treatment options such as therapy help in controlling a lot of the affects that bipolar mania causes.

This depression involve severe changes in mood that happen rapidly. Bipolar Manic or Bipolar Mania are the terms that describe the highs of these mood swings. The lows of these mood swings are termed Bipolar depression.

Many people suffer from erratic mood swings, and the causes may not be something like stress or premenstrual syndrome. Doctor have proven that mood swings are a part of depression.

Extreme Behavior

But your mood swings can go to the extreme, like if you get upset at the simplest of things like not receiving the right flavor of ice cream when you order it, this may go beyond being just sarcastic. You may go as far as to pitch a fit toward the ice cream vendor even a complete tantrum, which may signify the start of Bipolar Mania or manic type behavior. Bipolar Mania or Bipolar Manic behavior actually the moments that a bipolar sufferer may go periods of high moods, which includes extreme energy, going into euphoric moods, lows of extreme grouchiness, racing thoughts, and behavior that is aggressive in nature.

Therapists are realizing that people that suffer with Bipolar Manic spells in which they go into elevated or euphoric moods may go through them sometimes a week or more at a time not just one day.

Depression

Then comes the down or low times, which is why it is Bipolar Depression or Manic Depression, during these times symptoms that are seen that go with most forms of depression. When you suffer spells of depression you can feel worthless and basically unloved and it can start to affect your mind. You may suffer from a variety of symptoms including: severe sadness, guilt, attacks of anxiety, feeling that you don't belong anywhere, and feeling totally pessimistic with no feeling of pleasure. If you are depressed for longer than a week at a time a therapists will diagnose you as suffering from Bipolar Manic depression.

It Is Treatable

Away for this Bipolar Manic disorder (can have Bipolar Mania behavior involved) being one of the better known but definitely extreme kind of depression disorder, most therapists and doctors agree that it can be treated.

Don't fret too much over the treatment, you just need to follow the directions that the therapist gives you, take what medication they prescribed for you in the proper amounts. So go get therapy today if you believe this is your problem. You should also see your therapist on a regular basis, when suffering from this Bipolar Mania or Manic depression, so that you can have an outlet for your pent up negative emotions. This way you will be venting them to someone who can help you comprehend them and what you should do to act more normal.

Although some people report getting some relief for Bipolar Mania or Bipolar Manic behavior through natural alternative type therapy or herbs, the longer lasting cure for this is seeing a cognitive behavior therapist. Against the beliefs of some people, as far as psychiatrists or cognitive behavior therapist are truly the best people to consult with for treatment for Bipolar Mania or Manic depression, and most likely will have a cure for it.

From the very advent of the human race, there has been an uncanny connection between superior or extraordinary intelligence and mental disorders. Even movies and books love to portray this connection in the form of a mad but intelligent scientist or the hallucinating but brilliant artist who is so embroiled in his work that he can’t even remember food.

Findings and Studies

Many studies have suggested that most creative masterminds if not all were patients of bipolar disorder. It’s usually suspected that the very reason why these people were so extraordinarily creative was due to this disorder. This is because one of the major characteristics of the mania period of this disorder is to radically enhance the mental, creative and physical energy. This also may serve as an explanation for the fact that these people had intense concentration and could work for longer periods of time.

Famous People with Bipolar

Some of the great names who were plagued with bipolar disorder were Virginia Wolf who was a great novelist and Sylvia Plath, a great poet of her times. The legendary musician and composer Ludwig van Beethoven also was a patient of this disease.

The Scarlet O’Hara in the movie Gone with the Wind whose real name was Vivien Leigh was also a patient of this Bipolar disorder. She was subjected to a lot of shock treatment for this disease as well.

The master painter Vincent Van Gogh was another Bipolar disorder patient. His masterpiece Starry Night was a result of the nightly sojourns in a mental asylum for the treatment of his eccentricity.

What does it Really Mean?

Though not everyone becomes a genius when they are afflicted with bipolar disorder, however there are still a number of artists and masters who are known to be bipolar. Is Bipolar disorder a reason for this extraordinary creativity and intelligence? Does the emotional instability cause all these creative juices to flow? Science should have the answer to all these questions one day.

• Depression: In this phase the patient may feel extremely sad, utterly hopeless, and worthless and have low energy levels. Most patients sleep a lot in these phases.

• Mania: Mania is characterized by insomnia and above normal energy levels. The patient tends to feel deliriously happy and is distracted. He has racing thoughts and thinks about multiple things at the same time.

• Mixed periods: These phases are characterized by the patient experiencing signs of mania and depression at the same time.

What Causes Bipolar Mania?

There is no one cause of bipolar mania. A number of factors contribute to the development and cause of this disease. These can include biological, environmental, emotional and even neurological factors. Till today, researches have not been able to point out to the exact causes of bipolar mania. However, researches are going on and significant progress has been made in this direction.

Bipolar disorder can be classified into two kinds: Bipolar Mania and Bipolar Manic

• Bipolar mania: Also known as minor mania, the patient alternates between phases of depression and extreme mania

• Bipolar manic depression: In the bipolar manic the depression phase is more dominant and there are few phases of mania which are lesser in comparison.

In the earlier days when people did not know about bipolar mania, this disease was often wrongly diagnosed as schizophrenia. This is not really surprising since the patients do have hallucinations and become delusional in bipolar mania. Many a times patient may not be aware of the reality during the severe episodes.

Common Mistakes

There is a tendency to diagnose bipolar manic depression as clinical depression. This can be attributed to the fact that the patient is mostly depressed and the mania episodes are quite rare. However, there is a difference. When patients suffering from bipolar manic depression are prescribed anti depressants, they tend to display signs of bipolar mania. This classic symptom is enough to tell the doctor that the disorder is bipolar manic depression and he then can prescribe mood stabilizers.

Bipolar mania has many different kind of treatments available. A blend of medication and counseling is perhaps the most common way to treat this disorder today. The doctor may prescribe anti-psychotics, mood stabilizers and even anti-depressants.

Therapy Options

There are many options in the therapy which are traditional counseling methods,cognitive behavioral therapy, emotive behavioral therapy and rational behavioral therapy.

These days there are new advanced therapy options available such as EBT, CBT and RBT which have a high success rate. Patients who cannot be prescribed medicines for some reason show a considerable amount of success with these modern therapy methods.

Progress in the Field

Though bipolar disorder has been around for quite some time now, yet researches have made a little progress on the disease. However, with the advent of new methods and technology to know the brain and its various functions, there are chances that this disease will have a cure one day.

Meanwhile people who show symptoms of bipolar disorder or if you feel that your loved one has this disorder, then its imperative that you get in touch with a certified health expert for the correct analysis and treatment. Bipolar disorder can be sorted out if you take the courage and get it treated. Remember, you control your illness; your illness does not control you.

Bipolar Experiences

People with bipolar disorder usually experience abnormal elevation and depression for short or significant period of time. But not everyone who has this illness experiences the same symptoms. Statistics recorded almost five millions of Americans being affected by this kind of mental illness. Bipolar disorder does not respect age, gender, race, status and attainments.

Most of the noticeable signs and symptoms of bipolar disorder are the major depressive episodes which may include feelings of sadness, anxiety, guilt, anger, isolation and hopelessness. The person may also experience disturbance in sleep, loss of appetite, fatigue, and even loss of interest to interact with other persons. Another symptom is the manic episode which is usually an irritability mood. Some people in the manic state experience psychosis, extreme irritability, and severe anxiety while some experience euphoria. The hypomanic episode, on the other hand, is a mild case of bipolar disorder with some irritability symptoms and mild mood swings but they may also be hindered by good personalities like being happy.

Bipolar Medication

Bipolar disorders may not be cured but it can be treated. A large number of pharmacological and psycho therapeutic treatments are available for people affected with bipolar disorder. Treatments may not only come as medication or therapy. Therapies are applied to patients to help them regain confidence and self-worth despite their conditions. Some people even use self-help therapy at home.

Two Ways

Medications to treat bipolar disorders are expected to be more than one, usually two; one medication for the mania and another medication for the disorder. These medications should be maintained to keep the moods properly balanced and to avoid rapid cycling of moods. To some patients, prescriptions for mood stabilizer which is a third medication, is highly required. Mood stabilizing medications alone or in combination with other antidepressants are generally prescribed to treat the illness.

Available Mood Stabilizers

There are many mood stabilizers available now. The most common of all is the Lithium, a sodium based medicine which is considered as the miracle drug for bipolar illness.

Based on reviews and researches, Lithium and sodium valproate (Depakote) are used as anti-convulsants. Other anti-convulsant medicine also include carbamazepine (Tegretol) and lamotigrine, which are shown to give more benefits to bipolar patients.

Antipsychotic medications like Quetiapine, olanzapine, and chlorpromazine are also proven to be effective as mono therapy for the treatment of bipolar disorder.

Other types of Bipolar Medication Treatment

Antidepressant medications may include citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil), and sertraline (Zoloft).  Among these four common medications, Celexa and Prozac are often times prescribed more by psychiatrist and physicians.

There are many ways to treat bipolar disorder in addition to medication. Treatments may be psychosocial which includes psychotherapy and the support and guidance of families and friends.

Some patients with mild cases of bipolar disorder would prefer self-help treatments or other alternative treatments rather than medication. Any kind of treatment requires the prescription and recommendation of a professional psychiatrist. And any kind of illness, especially bipolar disorder, would be treated well if the family or the people around you, including the patient himself, would know how to understand and accept the case.