Bipolar Disorder Can Own A Future
There are mental disorders that can be described by the disturbance in an individual’s mood. These mental disorders are called mood disorders. The mood disturbance can be severe and can include depression, mania, or hypomania, or any combination of these.
There is a certain type of mood disorder called bipolar disorder. It involves swings in mood from elation to depression without discernable external cause. A person having bipolar disorder experiences swings from depression to mania. In the manic phase of this disorder, the patient may show extreme, unwarranted silliness. They may also show poor judgment and recklessness and may be argumentative. A manic person may speak rapidly, have unrealistic ideas, and jump from subject to subject. They possibly cannot sit still for very long. These symptoms are predominant for a specific period of time lasting for a few days . Hospitalization can often be necessary to keep the person from harming themselves and others. The other side of the bipolar coin is the depressive episode. Bipolar depressed patients often sleep more than usual and are exhausted. Distinguishing it from major depression, they usually has trouble sleeping and is agitated. During bipolar depressive episodes, a patient may also show irritability and withdrawal.
There is still no identifiable reasons as to what causes mood disorders. Our brain naturally produces chemicals called endorphins that elicits positive moods. Other chemicals in the brain, called neurotransmitters, regulate endorphins. Studies show that mood disorders are caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Unwanted incidents in life can also add to a depressed mood. On the other hand, genetic factors could be a prospect in causing bipolar disorder. Since it is related to depression, a gene may be responsible for the occurrence of the disorder. And this gene may be triggered by the environment, such as serious life-changing events. Evidence suggests that environmental factors play a significant role in the development and course of bipolar disorder, and that individual psychosocial variables may interact with genetic dispositions.
Moreover, some limited long-term studies indicate that children who later receive a diagnosis of bipolar disorder may show subtle early traits such as sub-threshold cyclical mood abnormalities, full major depressive episodes, and possibly ADHD with mood fluctuation. Hypersensitivity and irritability can also appear. There is some disagreement whether the experiences are chronic. A record of stimulant use in childhood is found in large numbers of bipolar patients and has been found to cause an earlier onset of bipolar disorder, worse clinical course, independent of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Bipolar disorder is often treated with mood stabilizer medications, and sometimes other psychiatric drugs. Psychotherapy also has a function, often when there has been some recovery of stability. In severe cases in which there is a risk of damage to oneself or others involuntary commitment may be used; these cases generally involve severe manic episodes with depressive episodes with suicidal intention.
Furthermore, because the pattern of highs and lows varies for each person, bipolar disorder is a complex disease to diagnose. For some people, mania or depression can last for weeks or months, even for years. For some, bipolar disorder takes the form of frequent and dramatic mood shifts.
According to Michael Aronson, MD, a clinical psychiatrist, there’s a whole spectrum of symptoms and mood changes that have been found in bipolar disorder. It’s not always dramatic mood swings. In fact, some people seem to get along just fine. There is productivity even in manic periods. They think things are going great. The menace comes when the mania grows really worse. The change can be very dramatic, with catastrophic outcomes. People can get involved in reckless behavior, spend a lot of money, there may be sexual promiscuity, sexual risks. The depressed phases can be equally dangerous: A person may have frequent thoughts of suicide.
