Bipolar disorder symptoms which are psychotic can be present in bipolar one. It must be noted that when psychosis symptoms are present, it automatically rules out bipolar II disorder. But before we dwell into the finer detail of Psychotic symptoms, I think that it is important to define what psychosis is. It is the loss of contact with the truth, which includes delusions and hallucinations.

Psychosis

The symptoms of psychosis is mostly associated with bipolar mania, bipolar 1, schizoaffective and schizophrenia disorders. There are other conditions where this psychosis symptoms can be present and this includes  dementia, postpartum psychosis,  Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and depressive episodes. While this has not been proven, it is believed that the use of certain illicit drugs, like methamphetamine, can bring about a psychotic episode.

Hallucinations

Many people associate hallucinations (hearing inner voices or sounds that are not real) with schizophrenia. While visual hallucinations is quite a common type, it is usually not associated with bipolar. Hallucinations can be experienced by individuals with bipolar disorder symptoms especially when in a depressive or mania episode.

Delusions – pronounced = de-LOO-zhuns

When people are deluded because of bipolar they are simply believing in something that is in fact not true. Some types of delusions and their information may include:

·     Delusions of grandeur – believing that they are both famous and quite important and that they are a god.

·     Delusional jealousy – this jealousy arises in the belief that their partner are not faithful when in fact it is not the truth.

·     Paranoid or persecutory delusions – it is the belief that someone is following, spying and secretly listened to you.

·     Delusions of reference – Strongly thinking that proceeding events have a special meaning only for you.

·     Other "unusual" delusions – believing they are a lion, your partner is an cat, or that big giant worms make big tunnels for trains to go through.

·     Delusions are just one aspect of the psychotic features of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. Also included are some other psychiatric and medical conditions.

The Link Between Bipolar and Psychosis

Usually the same psychotic symptoms that appears in bipolar I disorder can be found in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders.  It has been observed that physical illnesses that can imitate bipolar disorder symptoms do cause psychosis.

Catatonia

While catatonia is firstly a schizophrenia symptom of schizoaffective disorder, it can be noticed although rarely as a psychotic symptom of bipolar disorder symptom. A lot of people think of catatonia as catatonic stupor, where victims sits absolutely motionless and doesn't respond to anybody and anything. There are many symptoms and different forms of catatonia, which we will not try to go into detail.

Seek Help

If anyone you know is showing psychosis symptoms mentioned above, please do not hesitate to ask for help because it may be a mental health problem related to or not related to bipolar disorder symptoms. The very fact that the person is showing psychosis symptoms is good enough reason for us to do something fast because it is serious.

Anxiety is the feeling of worry, tension and apprehension, which can be a symptom of bipolar disorder depression.  This was recognized by Dr. Emil Kraepelin, back in 1921.  He described "anxious mania", as an "excited depression", which includes "great restlessness". In his article he specifically named anxiety as one of the components of bipolar illness.  While "anxiety" may not generally be regarded as a bipolar symptom it is now recognized as one of the symptoms of this mental disorder.

Co-Morbid Condition

Anxiety can inhibit a person in two different ways either as a bipolar symptom disorder or a separate anxiety condition in addition to bipolar disease.  When this happens it is called in medical language, a "co-morbid" condition. In other words it means that the combined conditions are present, bipolar and anxiety but the later is not coming from the bipolar disorder itself.

The Experience of Anxiety

Bipolar victims usually describe their anxiety as a disturbing condition during which they can lose their normal capacity to think and judge rationally. When in their severe mode they are usually unable to control their racing thoughts and find it hard to explain the situation to anyone. Anxiety can be triggered by a number of factors, this includes, life’s experiences, physical and psychological traits. Genetics of family history can also have an implication in the makeup of this anxiety disorder.

The Brain

Recent studies have shown that there is a link between anxiety disorders and certain areas of the brain, especially the imbalance in noradrenaline, serotonin and Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). These neurotransmitters with big amounts or the lack of it may contribute to the symptoms of the disease. No one can really say with certainty what the real cause of the disorder is.

Serotonin Hypothesis

Although there has been much research into the role of serotonin in the brain, the only suggestion is, anxiety is caused by abnormally increased of serotonin concentrations and depression due to abnormally decreased serotonin concentrations. This may be an oversimplification of the issue which we are just trying to hypothesize.

Alcohol Use

To suppress their anxiety,  many have chosen alcohol for temporary relief, which may make them feel relaxed for a few hours, but this is in not a good solution to the problem because alcohol will only add to the worsening of bipolar disease.

Medication Warning

While doctors may often recommend treatment for the anxiety condition with antidepressant medication, these medications can make this mental illness worse!  There have been a lot of controversies surrounding antidepressants drugs. Antidepressant drugs must always be accompanied by mood stabilizers when treating bipolar symptoms.  And also be warned that all bipolar medications may work for some and not for others and the side effects like itching or weight gain can happen to anyone.

High Risk Involved

Anxiety is a depressive mode which must be treated because the risk factors of suicide are great.  For those in this depressive mode, the present feels unbearable, the future looks hopeless and pointless, so why not end it all. If you or your friend are  thinking and feeling like this, see a doctor or therapist to help you manage your bipolar symptoms of depression  in the short and long term. Bipolar anxiety which comes under depression must not be taken lightly, for any life whether yours or your friends  is precious.

We meet negative behaviors like aggression, provocation, and intrusive behaviors on a daily basis. We meet these behaviors in our homes with members of our own families, on the road to work, at work or out on the streets. These behaviors, though negative in nature, have an important purpose in our human lives. It is a defensive mechanism between members of different species and normally takes a variety of forms among humans which can be physical, mental or verbal. These negative behaviors are usually intended to cause pain or harm to another person and often originate from outside catalyst, but have a very distinct internal character. But with people who have bipolar symptoms of aggression, there may be no outside stimuli and no internal character.

Biology of Aggression in the Brain

Scientists, using a variety of techniques and experiments, have been able to explore the relationships between various parts of the body and aggression. It has then been suggested that neurotransmitters is a significant cause of aggressive behaviors, with some people found to lack a gene that produces enzymes called monoamine oxidase-a (MAOA). These enzymes break down significant transmitters in the brain and if the transmitters are not broken down, especially the serotonin, it will build up the serotonin level causing a person to act aggressive or have violent behaviors. We can only hope that over time we can locate the exact organic causes of these behaviors and understand these neurotransmitters and how they function. We must not dismiss aggressive or violent behaviors with a biological explanation because it really has a biological aspect to it.

Treatments for the Disorder

Most people with this mental disorder take prescribed drugs to prevent bipolar symptoms from reoccurring. Because there are unknown factors with this mental illness, lots of people will tell you that medication alone is usually not enough to fully control these aggressions showing as a bipolar symptom. Other treatment strategies for bipolar include a combination of bipolar medication, therapy, social support and lifestyle changes.

Bipolar Depression and Medication

The brain must maintain a delicate balance of neurochemicals within itself, if it rises high it causes mania and if it goes low – depression. But with a bipolar patient the brain cannot do its job correctly and the power to effectively regulate intense emotions. Bipolar medications are designed to change or alter the brain chemicals (neurochemicals) and so help bipolar patients manage their emotions and behaviors in their everyday life.

Combining Medicated Drugs

Because bipolar symptoms may show itself as mania, depression, hypomania or bipolar 2, most people being treated for bipolar disorder take three to four medications simultaneously. These combinations of prescribed medication are often essential to sufficiently treat the wide collection of problems seen in this mental illness.

Antidepressant Drugs

Antidepressants have been traditionally used to treat bipolar but it may not work very well, trigger a mania episode or increase mood cycling for bipolar victims. Because of the long term high risks it poses, this antidepressant medication should be combined with a mood stabilizer such as lithium or valproic acid. Some mood stabilizers include: Lamictal, Seroquel, Zyprexa and Symbyax (a combination of olanzapine and antidepressant).

Ask for Help

It is important to manage your behaviors and your temper. There may be occasional outbursts, but if your aggressive behavior continues for more than several days, consult your mental health professional, it may be bipolar.

Headaches: Fairly common in people experiencing depression. These headaches can range from mild to severe and can be either linked to bipolar illness or bipolar medications. Because medication works differently in all of us some bipolar victims can experience these migraines when taking their prescriptions and others their headaches disappear with bipolar medications.

Back pain: Those already suffering from back pain can get worse with the illness. Acute back pain can be a sign of other illness in the muscles and arteritis (not to be confused with arthritis).

Muscle aches and joint pain: There are over 800 causes of muscle pain and over 200 causes of muscle cramps. Bipolar depression can make any chronic pain worse than before.

Chest pain: Because chest pain can be linked to depression it is important to be checked by an expert. It can be a sign of bigger problems.

Digestive problems:  There are two main causes of digestive problems one is diet and the other one stress. Those suffering from a bipolar symptom can experience regular constipation problem because of drugs or stress which is  bipolar related.

Fatigued and exhausted: Even with lots of sleep they will still feel tired and worn out and getting out of bed can be a big problem.

Not eating and Craving: Some people with depression do not feel like eating and lose weight while some others find certain craving for certain foods like carbohydrates.

The two Types of Symptoms

Bipolar symptoms are not all emotional because there are physical symptoms and changes in the body. One good example of a bipolar symptom is the  slowing down of food digestion when depressed or stressed, which can cause all sorts of problems in the stomach.

Body Chemicals

While depression is  related to an imbalance of certain chemicals in the brain,  these same chemicals play an important role in how pain is felt in the body. Many experts believe that depression can make pain feel differently especially with those suffering from bipolar disorder.

Treating Physical Depressed Pain

It is important to treat your bipolar depression either with therapy or by prescribed drugs, for this can help in resolving the problem of physical pain. Always make sure you inform your doctor about the physical symptoms you are going through because you may need additional medication. Some doctors have prescribed anti-anxiety drugs for insomnia which have helped patients to relax and sleep well.

Other Treatments

There are other treatments for the easing the pain of physical symptoms – like cognitive behavioral – which  teaches  you ways to cope better with the pain. Many doctors can miss the physical symptoms because they do not know that the physical symptoms are caused by bipolar depression.