What is bipolar disorder?
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It is a combination of elevated mood at times, and or periods of anxiety and depression at other times. It includes very highs and very lows of mood.
The extreme mood changes are the characteristic and classical symptoms of bipolar mood disorder. These extreme changes may continue for days to weeks.
Such mood swings are called mood episodes which include the manic episodes (mania, hypomania) and depressive episodes.
Normal human can also experience sudden mood shifts but that generally would last for only few hours. In bipolar disorder the mood changes may last for days to week. It is believed to be a result of genetic predisposition, family history or some chemical changes within a person’s brain.
With early detection and treatment using psychotherapy and adapting healthy lifestyle as well as family support, a person with bipolar disorder can show good recovery. However if the person is left untreated, it may worsen his situation putting a burden on him and family.
What are the signs and symptoms of BPD Or bipolar disorder?
During the Manic mood episodes a person may exhibit following signs and symptoms:
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Highly elevated mood: elation. Euphoria, ecstasy
·
Feels overactive
·
Behaves impulsively
·
Sleeps less yet feels not tired
·
Has a sense of extra wellbeing
·
Can’t accept the reality
·
Extra talkativeness, bizarre behaviour
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Increased libido, engages in unprotected sex.
·
Jumps to quick conclusions
·
Flight of ideas: thoughts racing suddenly form
one to another: sometimes speaks unorganised or unrelated content.
·
Lives in his or her own fantasy world. Spending
sprees is one of the most common thing seen in mania. Such people take either
random or impatient decisions without proper understanding. They show signs of
overconfidence that may irritate others while communicating.
During hypomanic episode people experience milder form of
mania which does not exhibit severe psychotic symptoms. People with hypomania
can live as a normal person and engage in normal self-activities as well as
attend social gatherings without being noticed as a hypomanic.
During the depressive mood episodes a person has following signs and symptoms:
The extreme-lows condition is termed as depression. It is when the person feels highly low and is very much anxious and depressed. In this state the person may have following symptoms:
·
Extreme level of sadness and anxiety
·
Feels worried about very small issues
·
Feels pain in the body which has no evident
cause or response to any medications
·
Isolates himself from others and becomes less
talkative.
·
Lack of interests in pleasurable activities such
as games or watching T.V. or reading comics etc.
·
General health may deteriorate as person eats
less and feels fatigued all the time. In some cases the debility makes them
feel difficult to get up from bed.
·
Depending on a person’s state, he may even eat
more. Thus eating more or eating less affects their weight gain/loss.
·
Insomnia or sleeplessness. The person finds
difficult to get to bed.
·
Looks absorbed deep in thoughts.
·
Activity level reduces and less participation in
social events or functions.
·
Negativity can be seen in his thoughts: starts
having suicidal ideations and tendencies
·
Feels mostly low and thinks he is guilty of
something and starts to avoid people
·
Reduced self-esteem and poor confidence.
When the extreme low mood episodes are severe, the person
starts thinking of ending up life, leaving this world. Suicidal ideations take
over the person’s mind and in some of the cases, if proper care and support is
not given the person may attempt a suicide.
What are the causes of bipolar mood disorder?
The causes of bipolar mood disorder are not known yet. Scientists
and researchers, however believe the disorder may be a result of some of the
underlying risk factors or predisposing causes.
Some of the possible risk factors may be:
Genetic Predisposition:
Some scholars believe that if there is a family history of
bipolar disorder, it may get transferred to the off-springs from their parents
or siblings through the genes. The genetics could have played a role in
contributing to the mental disorder. Though the studies are not absolute of its
exactness or role, it can be seen on history taking that in most of the cases
the there is an involvement of family illness history.
Emotional factors:
The person’s ill health, sudden loss of family member e.g.
Death or any mishaps, divorce or troubled marriage or financial losses may
contribute to stress. Nowadays the
stress level is on a rise and in this hectic world managing the situations puts
an extra burden on person’s mental health.
Chemical change in the brain: it is believed due to some of the chemical changes inside the brain, the person’s mental health can get affected. Although there is not enough evidences of that.
Diagnosis of bipolar mood disorder
The diagnosis of bipolar mood disorder can be done in
following ways:
Physical assessment
This includes general body check-up, laboratory blood tests, etc.
History taking. Thorough history of present illness, past
illness, family history of mental illness is taken as a tool to identify any
underlying risk factor of the disorder. Family members are also interrogated to
narrate the behavioural pattern of the patient. This aids a lot in diagnosis of
disorder.
Psychiatric assessment
This includes mental status examination which involves many
criteria to assess the insight, orientation, organisation, mood pattern,
thought attributes and speech of the person.
Based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual DSM the
criteria for diagnosing bipolar are compared with the exhibited symptoms and
then the diagnosis is confirmed.
After analysing the availed information the psychiatrist
reaches the final diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
What are the types of Bipolar disorder?
Bipolar disorder can occur at any age but its onset is most
often seen in teenage and post-teenage. Some types of bipolar mood disorders
are not too severe but the ones with major mania or major depressive episodes
pose a risk to life of the patient and family also.
Bipolar disorder can be classified into below types:
Bipolar I
In this type, there is presence of at least one manic episode followed by or preceded by major depressive episodes. In some cases the manic episodes advance to the stage of psychosis in which the person starts experiencing derealisation. This means person behaves and feels far away from reality.
Bipolar II
In this type of bipolar disorder there is presence of at least one depressive
mood episodes with one hypomanic episode. However there is no sign of manic
episode noted in the person.
Cyclothymic
Cyclothymic is a periodical mood disorder that is characterized by the presence
of multiple episodes of hypomania and periods of depression (which is not a
major one) during specific periods of life. In adults it is two years span and
in children and teenagers it runs for one year showing episodes of hypomania
and depression
Other types
Some types of bipolar disorder may be a result of some diseases such as genetic disorders or alcohol or other addiction.
Prevention of bipolar disorder
As the causes of this disorder are not known exactly, there is no such prevention described anywhere.
To avoid some of the risk factors, preventive measures can be taken as follows:
Maintain healthy lifestyle. Reduce the stress levels.
Avoid the intake of alcohol and tobacco. Alcohol abuse may
lead to symptoms of mental disorders.
Talk with your family if you are feeling low due to any
reason or there is an emotional breakdown.
Pay attention to your mental health: If you notice your
behaviour is changing for no apparent reason and there are apparent signs and
symptoms of mood episodes, try to consult a psychologist or psychiatrist.
Undergo proper counselling and initiate the therapy sessions as prescribed.
This helps early detection and first level prevention. This blocks any further
changes advancing towards becoming bipolar disorder
Secondary prevention safeguards the person by controlling
the symptoms present in the already diagnosed bipolar disorder. Continue the
treatment with medications and behaviour therapy or psychotherapy sessions as
advised for your type.
Treatment of bipolar disorder
Treatment
strategies include:
Medical treatment:
· Doctors prescribe medications to control the
mood swings of the patient. The doctor advises the family members to give
medications to patient without fail daily and as prescribed.
· Patient needs to continue medications advised by
the doctor and should not stop any medications without consulting him. It may
lead to sudden appearance of symptoms or may even get worse.
· According to the symptoms, the doctor prescribes
anti-depressants, anti-psychotic, anti-anxiety medications, etc. a day care
patient may be taken care of by the family members.
Hospitalisation:
Severe cases of bipolar disorder require immediate hospitalisation to control the symptoms and prevent any adverse complications.
Psychotherapy and health education:
Treatment of bipolar disorder continues lifelong and only family support and other effective management strategies all together can help affected person to live normally in the society.
Note: This blog post is for informational and educational purpose only. It is not a substitute to any medical advice, consultation or treatment. Seek the medical help in any case.
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