Information on Bipolar Disorder

Psychiatric Management for Bipolar Disorder

admin — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 10:07:42 +0000

Bipolar disorder is a mental disorder characterized by alternating episodes of extreme depression and mania.
There are times that an individual who has the mental disorder feel extremely happy, selfish, agitated, and always on the move! This is the manic phase or episode of the disorder.
And a couple of hours later, he withdraws, feels weak and extremely sad, indifferent and oftentimes cry. This is obviously the depressive state of the illness.
Different therapies may shorten, delay, or even prevent the extreme moods caused by bipolar disorder. Lithium carbonate, a natural mineral salt, can help control both mania and depression in bipolar disorder.
Lithium generally takes two to three weeks to become effective. People with bipolar disorder may take lithium during periods of relatively normal mood to delay or prevent subsequent episodes of mania or depression. Common side effects of lithium include nausea, increased thirst and urination, vertigo, loss of appetite, and muscle weakness. In addition, long-term use can impair functioning of the kidneys.
For this reason, doctors do not prescribe lithium to bipolar patients with kidney disease. Many people find the side effects so unpleasant that they stop taking the medication, which often results in relapse.
Not all who take lithium though have positive results. We can have 20 to 40 percent probability that the lithium therapy can give no improvement on the mental illness. On these patients, two anticonvulsant drugs may help dampen severe manic episodes: valproate, brand name Depakene; or, carbamazepine; brand name Tegretol. The use of traditional antidepressants to treat bipolar disorder can give have paradoxical effects which is the triggering of a manic episode or a rapid-cycling pattern.

What are the Causes of Bipolar Disorders

admin — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 10:07:08 +0000

We may have heard that insanity can be inherited form he family line. Well, basing on medical research, what people may have observed can indeed be true. The research has been made reliable as the study made use of twins. Research of twins give a very good and sufficient proof for the role of heredity in the cause of a mental disorder called a bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorders are characterized by alternating episodes of elation and extreme depression. Within the twins whose genetic composition are exact with each other, when one twin has bipolar disorder, the other twin has the also the same disorder. This is true in more than 70 percent of cases.
On the other hand, investigations on fraternal twins show a lesser result. Unlike identical twins whose genetic composition are exactly the same with each other, fraternal twins have about half their genes in common. Here, the siblings have bipolar disorder in less than 15 percent of cases in which one twin has the disorder. The degree of genetic similarity seems to account for the difference between identical and fraternal twins. Further evidence for a genetic influence comes from studies of adopted children with bipolar disorder.
The findings reveal that biological relatives of the children have a higher incidence of bipolar disorder than do people in the general population. Thus, bipolar disorder seems to run in families for genetic reasons.
Work-related or personal stress can trigger a manic episode, but this usually occurs in people with a genetic vulnerability. Other factors—such as prenatal development, childhood experiences, and social conditions—seem to have relatively little influence in causing bipolar disorder.
A research showed that the children of identical twins in which only one member of each pair of twins had bipolar disorder. The study found that regardless of whether the parent had bipolar disorder or not, all of the children had the same high 10-percent rate of bipolar disorder.
This medical investigation show that the probability for bipolar illness stems out from genetic predisposition, not from exposure to a parent’s bipolar illness or from family problems caused by that mental disorder.

Bipolar Disorder Defined and Its Prevalence

admin — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 10:05:07 +0000

Now, he is energetic, intensely elated, irritable and self-important. An hour later, he a painful sadness, negative thinking, and indifferent to things that used to bring them happiness. These are the manifestations of people who have a mental disorder called Bipolar Disorder.
A person with Bipolar Disorder has alternating moods of extreme mania and depression. Bipolar disorder is also otherwise referred to as manic-depressive illness. When the patient is in a depressed state, he feels extremely gloomy and negativistic. When he shifts to being manic, the patient can look hyperactive, always on the move and mischievous.
Bipolar disorder is much less common than depression. In North America and Europe, about 1 percent of people experience bipolar disorder during their lives. Rates of bipolar disorder are similar throughout the world. In comparison, at least 8 percent of people experience serious depression during their lives.
Bipolar disorder affects men and women about equally and is somewhat more common in higher socioeconomic classes. At least 15 percent of people with bipolar disorder commit suicide. This rate roughly equals the rate for people with major depression, the most severe form of depression.
Some research suggests that highly creative people—such as artists, composers, writers, and poets—show unusually high rates of bipolar disorder, and that periods of mania fuel their creativity.
There are a lot of well known personalities around the world who has manic depressive disorder. Some are writers and some artists. These famous personalities in history who may have the disorder are painters Amedeo Modigliani and Jackson Pollock, novelists Virginia Woolf and Ernest Hemingway, Lord Byron and Anne Sexton, and composers Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Sergey Rachmaninoff. Critics of this research note that many creative people do not suffer from bipolar disorder, and that most people with bipolar disorder are not especially creative.

Usual Management for Bipolar Disorder

admin — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 10:01:20 +0000

Yes, there can be no absolute remedy for bipolar disorder. Nonetheless, there are some reliable management that are usually applied to help alleviate the condition whenever it strikes. The focus of the management is to deal with the general manifestations of depression and mania – which are the two faces of the condition.

Never give up on someone you love who is having a bipolar disorder. There are few tips which can help you lead a near normal life. One of the most important tip that you need to follow is to stick to a treatment plan. There is no use in stopping treatment once you begin to feel better.

Do not be complacent on being wary about he signs and symptoms of bipolar disorder. Keep a diary near you and note down what triggers your manic or depressive episodes. If possible ask some of your family members to watch out for the symptoms.

If here are times that you have no quick choice or remedy but to use the sedative effects of alcohol, always bear in mind that they will give you only temporary relief. Coping with bipolar disorder needs a long term treatment plan, which you need to stick on to. Moreover, using alcohol or illicit drugs will only worsen your condition.

Among the most helpful advice that you can give to someone who is suffering from bipolar disorder so that they themselves can help themselves is to join a support group. These days after the advent of the internet, you can find plenty of them online too.

In this manner, you will get to see who other members are coping with bipolar disorder. You can also seek the help of a professional counselor too. They can help you manage your disorder in a better way and help you fight depression. You should also make it a point to get enough sleep.

Getting insuffienent sleep is known to be one of the predisposing factors of bipolar disorder symptoms. What has been mentioned in these article will hopefully help you in coping with bipolar disorder or helping a loved one with bipolar disorder. And these management can are prooven to work for quite some time.

How to Deal With Bipolar Disorder

admin — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 10:00:35 +0000

People usually disregard the danger of a developing mental disorder, just like a bipolar disorder. Unlike an acute or chronic illness, family members would deny that these mental illness are real and that they can be a big issue in the long run. These mental illness can cause life threatening harm to others as well as the patient himelf.

A person with bipolar disorder experiences two phases of mental instability – first is manic, where he or she becomes inappropriateley happy and hyperactive and mischievous. The second is depressive, where a person becomes extremely sad and indifferent.

It is in the manic phase where a person usually can harm others and it is in the dpressive state where there can be potential acts of suicide.

Around 2 million American adults every year have some degreee of bipolar disorder so it is by no means a rare disorder. Doctors and psychiatrists alike are on hand to help you or your family member or friend through it. If you think someone you know is suffering from bipolar disorder the best thing you can do for them is to take them to see their doctor.

1. Therapy should be combined with medication and can be attended in one on one sessions or at group therapy classes. by talking to somebody who understands the patient’s problems the support can often lead to a very desirable outcome. Consult your psychiatrist about where to go to attend these group talks.

2. Always be prepared for the worst. Don’t forget that bipolar disease will mean constant ups and downs and many patients try to commit suicide because they see it as their only way out. Be prepared and always be ready to call 911 if you think this is going to be the case. Don’t be afraid that you will be wasting their time if your family member or friend is just having a down day because if you don’t ring the consequences could be a lot worse.

3. If you or someone you know has a bipolar disease then it is recommended that you see a psychiatrist and not your general physician although your GP can refer you to a specialist in the field that will be in the best position to offer you the help, support and information you need to beat it.

4. Long term preventative treatment is likely to be required because bipolar disorder is a recurrent illness. Stopping the medication or psychological treatment received can cause a regression to the mood swings associated with the disease.

5. There are medications known as mood stabilizers available and a person who suffers from bipolar disorder is likely to be prescribed these by their psychiatrist. They will normally have to take these for the rest of their lives because bipolar disease is recurrent. Sometimes other drugs are combined with mood stabilizers but this will probably only be over a short period of time.

Manifestations of a Patient With Bipolar Disorder

admin — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 10:06:37 +0000

Bipolar disorder typically occurs when the person is sixteen years old and up or during the 20’s. In women who have the disorder, they usually have the depression first. While males experience the manic phase as the first manifestation. Attacks of alternating depression and mania typically last from several weeks to several months. Usually, patients who’s symptoms are left untreated experience four episodes of mania or depression over any ten-year period. A lot of individuals with bipolar disorder do well in between attacks of the disease. In “fast-cycling” bipolar disorder, on the other hand, which represents 5 to 15 percent of all cases, a person experiences four or more mood episodes within a year and may have little or no normal functioning in between episodes. In rare cases, swings between mania and depression occur over a period of days.
In one form of bipolar disorder, a person feels major depression and hypomanic episodes. Hypomanic episodes are actually a milder form of mania. In a related disorder called cyclothymic disorder, a person’s mood alternates between mild depression and mild mania. Some people with cyclothymic disorder later develop full-blown bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder may also follow a seasonal pattern, with a person typically experiencing depression in the fall and winter and mania in the spring or summer.
Patients who are in a state of being depressed feel very tired and very much indifferent form activities, work, and people that once brought them pleasure. Their alertness is dininished, concentrate poorly, feel tired, and experience changes—usually an increase—in their appetite and sleep. They often feel a sense of worthlessness or helplessness. In addition, they may feel pessimistic or hopeless about the future and may think about or attempt suicide. In some cases of severe depression, people may experience psychotic symptoms, such as delusions (false beliefs) or hallucinations (false sensory perceptions). See Psychosis.
When we take a look at the manic episode, patients have elated emotions and feel happy without any reason. But they can be irritable and selfish. In this highly energized state they sleep less, have racing thoughts, and talk in rapid-fire speech that goes off in many directions. They have inflated self-esteem and confidence and may even have delusions of grandeur. Mania may make people impatient and abrasive, and when frustrated, physically abusive. They often behave in socially inappropriate ways, think irrationally, and show impaired judgment. For example, they may take airplane trips all over the country, make indecent sexual advances, and formulate grandiose plans involving indiscriminate investments of money. Mania can be very well have disruptive behaviors, these can be provoking confrontations with obnoxious or combative behavior, buying outrageously expensive gifts, excessive gambling, or abusing alcohol or other drugs.

What Can You Do to Manage Bipolar Disorder?

admin — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 10:03:20 +0000

You may be a good friend or a family member who is well aware that your loved one has a mental illness, specifically manic depressive disorder. And you are well aware that in the manic phase, the person may be in a hyperactive, elated sate. And the complete opposite happens when he is in the depressive state.

In the hyperactive state, the person can make big, major decisions without even thinking about it. Lke travelling to a distant place, buying expensive things or doing soemthing dangerous. Now, th prinicple is, you should help him by prventing him from potentially doing things that can inflict harm to himself or to others.

Now here a a few advisory on how you can better be able act to protect someone with a bipolar disorder or a manic depressive disorder.

1. Do Not demand that your friend or family member “snap out of it”.

They cannot snap out of it anymore than, say a person with cancer, liver disease,or high blood pressure without treatment.

2. Do not try to fix your friend or family members problems on your own, you will frustrate yourself. Instead encourage him or her to get professional help.

3. Always keep in mind, that a mood disorder affects a person’s attitudes and beliefs. If the person in question says things like, “nothing good will ever happen to me”, “no one loves or cares about me”, “I have learned all there is to know of all the secrets in this world”, it’s easy to jump to the conclusion that it is their illness speaking for them. With treatment your friend or family member will realize that what they had been thinking is not a reflection of reality.

4. Make sure that your friend or family member do not have access to weapons and or large quantities of medications, or anything else that could be dangerous.

5. Educate yourself about your friend or family members illness, the symptoms and treatments. Read all you can about it, from reliable sources.

6. You should have realistic expectations of and for your loved ones. He or she can recover fully,though it will not happen over night. Be patient and have a hopeful attitude.

7. Keep in mind this is a real illness, also that this is a treatable condition. This is a real physical illness that affects the brain. It is as real as is Diabetes or asthma. This is not a character flaw or personal weakness. It is not caused by anything you or anyone else did. It is a genetic disorder.Though it may not show up till many years later.

What Can I do to Help Somone With Bipolar Disorder?

admin — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 10:02:46 +0000

Bipolar disorder is a mental disorder that usually occurs when a person reaches late teenage years or duing his twenties. That’s why there are no kids roaming around and diagnosed with this mental illness. If you want ot know how is starts, here it goes – an affected male would likely get very euphoric first before getting so depressed. But in females, it’s the other way areound. She would be sad first, and then get manic later. But the syndrome is not for children. At least, this is a fact to a significant level.

The psychiatrists would say that bipolar disorder, tends to prefer those people who are melancholic in nature than other types of people. There are however those experts who did not think the condition can be synonymous with just about anyone.

If you are that person who is always analytic and is always reflecting deeply on things, you could suffer from bipolar disorder, and it could be a difficult one to keep up with. So, your best bet is to go for diagnoses to ascertain if your condition is actually bipolar or something else.

In a very few cases, patients who have a bipolar type of disorder could switch moods within minutes. However in most cases, individual episodes could last several weeks or months.

When the ailment is left alone and untreated, the sufferer could be suffering from the syndrome for the whole of ten years or more with only an episode per time.

It is common to have bipolar disorder sufferers endure just four episodes of mania or depression in ten years, without any strangeness in between.

But then, what can happen to the worst degree is that a patient can experience up to four lapses of the cycle iin a period of twelve months. This thing is named as the “rapid-cycling” bipolar kind of disorder. True enough, when it comes to the difficulty of any ental illness, there are no assurance of being back to the right frame of mind in between the bipolar disorder episodes.

Bipolar Disorder : How Can You Help Yourself?

admin — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 10:00:04 +0000

It is strange how a mental illness like a bipolar disorder or shizophrenia can be quite a battle similar to the “usual” diseases that we know such as diabetes, heart problems, or cancer. But true enough, metal disorders should not be disregarded or ignored. As soon as minor symptoms have been observed, a prompt medical attention should be given in order to increase the chances of better recovery.

A bipolar, being a mental illness is soemthing that patients cannot can’t beat but have to live with and try to overcome when the major symptoms of it begin to take hold. Basically, it’s a fight to become normal or have some sort of normalcy restored into their life

Living the normal life with an illness such as bi-polar disorder is a hard thing to accomplish. It can hit on every aspect of the person’s life, disrupting not only their lives but others around them. That’s why it is so imperative people with the disease be aware of any changing behavior, if possible!

The case most often is that, the more serious the condition, the easier it is to spot. Perhaps those who have it can spot it but likely it would be a patient’s love one. made in the first place, that the signs were there from the beginning.

Prompt medical management can prevent some of the extreme manic highs and lows one often feels with the disease. If the disease is found early on, the sooner the treatment can begin successfully and the less likely severe symptoms will erupt.

Along with medication, it is best that these pills should be coupled up with thearapeutic conversation or sessions. Most doctors will suggest this type of therapy. Some patients might disagree to talk with a therapist. The real truth is talking with a therapist really does help out the patient with their disease.

The patient diagnosed with bipolar disorder can still take care of themselves daily as long as they consciously remember to do it. It may seem obvious to do things for ourselves but for bi-polar patients, they have to repeatedly remind themselves to do it.

Therapeutic conversation si still the all time, unparalleled, best treatment there is. Yes, aside from the fact that the patient takes in no drugs and so has no risk of having side effects or toxic reations, therapeutic sessions can help the patient reflect on his or her conditions and can make the person better help himself or herself.

Bipolar Disorder and the Symptoms that can be Observed

admin — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 09:58:29 +0000

Caring for a loved one who has a bipolar disorder has to mean that you have to know the characteristics of the mental illness for you to properly identify whether the person is already not in his or her right frame of mind as of that moment and proper intervention can be done before anything can get out of hand.

There are actually three primary categories where a medical practitioner would usually assesss this mental illness. These three are manic manifestations, psychotic symptoms, and depressive bipolar condition characteristics. If several of these are being manifested, it may be time to go in for an interview.

The manifestations of this mental illness are many. They all share a particular feeling, though. Everything is faster, grander, and generally bigger than life. An individual in a manic state might be more active than normal. He/she may think and talk faster than he or she ordinarily does. Everything about that person is exaggerated, including their overwhelming feeling of self importance.

The patient may feel that he would be so compelled to do things that he normally does not do. When these plans do not pan out, that person will broadly speaking position the blame on some extraneous factor if, in point of fact, he/she takes the time to consider it in the least. Usually, it’s simply off to the next idea. These are the not only whimsical behaviors, but are actually bipolar disorder signs.

The patient is always on the move when of coure, he is in the manic episode. They can finally end up doing things that effect their personal human relationships or may go so far as landing them in jail. This may be observed by someone who is not tuned in to bipolar disorder manifestations as simply an issue with their conduct. The truth is that people need curative to do better. It isn’t just a point of making up one’s mind to do the correct thing.

The manifestations of psychotic bipolar disorder occur frequently in mania, but can come often with mixed moods and often times with depressive bipolar disorder characteristics. Psychosis merely denotes a chance with reality. This can enter the sort of hallucinations, both auditory (hearing voices, etc.) and visual. Delusions, or false beliefs, are also bipolar condition characteristics. For instance, an individual may falsely feel that he/she is actually some famous historical figure.

When the patient is in a depressive state, bipolar condition signs can often be easily seen if one is willing to look carefully. The lack of desire to do things or anhedonia can indicate depression, but other clues are even more telling. Indifference and lack of initiative seem to go together in depressive bipolar signs.