peterhutch asked:


Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person’s mood, energy, and ability to function. Different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through, the symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. They can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance, and even *******. But there is good news: bipolar disorder can be treated, and people with this illness can lead full and productive lives.

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person’s mood, energy, and ability to function. Different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through, the symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. They can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance, and even *******. But there is good news: bipolar disorder can be treated, and people with this illness can lead full and productive lives.

Everyone has occasional highs and lows in their moods. But people with bipolar disorder have extreme mood swings. They can go from feeling very sad, despairing, helpless, worthless, and hopeless (depression) to feeling as if they are on top of the world, hyperactive, creative, and grandiose (mania). This disease is called bipolar disorder because the mood of a person with bipolar disorder can alternate between two completely opposite poles, euphoric happiness and extreme sadness.

The deep mood swings of bipolar disorder may last for weeks or months, causing great disturbances in the lives of those affected, and those of family and friends, too. Today, a growing volume of research suggests that bipolar disorder occurs across a spectrum of symptoms, and that many people aren’t correctly diagnosed. Left untreated, bipolar disorder generally worsens, and the ******* rate is high among those with bipolar disorder. But with effective treatment, you can live an enjoyable and productive life despite bipolar disorder.

A person with bipolar disorder will go through episodes of mania (highs) and at other times experience episodes of depression (lows). These aren’t the normal periods of happiness and sadness that everyone experiences from time to time. Instead, the episodes are intense or severe mood swings, like a pendulum that keeps arcing higher and higher.

The genetics of bipolar disorder are the most intensively studied of all psychiatric diseases. Multiple genes, involving several chromosomes, have been linked to its development. Bipolar disorder also may share these genetic factors with other disorders, including schizophrenia, epilepsy, and panic disorder. It is not clear if some of these disorders are variations of a single disease or separate disorders.

The cause of bipolar disorder is not entirely known. Genetic, neurochemical and environmental factors probably interact at many levels to play a role in the onset and progression of bipolar disorder. The current thinking is that this is a predominantly biological disorder that occurs in a specific part of the brain and is due to a malfunction of the neurotransmitters (chemical messengers in the brain). As a biological disorder, it may lie dormant and be activated spontaneously or it may be triggered by stressors in life.

Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness. People who have it experience dramatic mood swings. They may go from overly energetic, “high” and/or irritable, to sad and hopeless, and then back again. They often have normal moods in between. The up feeling is called mania. The down feeling is depression. Bipolar disorder can run in families. It usually starts in late adolescence or early adulthood.



Derek

? Kelly Renay ? asked:


My meds are running out and I don’t have insurance because I just moved to a new state and I don’t have any money to get insurance so I was wondering, what are ways to deal with bipolar disorder without being on meds? Is there any way possible that I can control my moods without being on medications?

Bernice

Lina Smith asked:


Being bipolar, or having bipolar disease is the name that is now given to what used to be called manic depression years ago. Millions of people all over the world have been diagnosed as being bipolar, or being on the bipolar spectrum – but many are unsure as to what this actually means. Bipolar disorder is known as a mood disorder which is typified by highs and lows which are much more extreme than most people are used to. Whilst in the grip of a bipolar episode suffers can act in ways that are very unlike their normal pattern of behaviour and this can sometimes turn dangerous.

Being bipolar means that these increased highs and lows interfere in a person’s daily life to such an extent that they are unable to function normally. For instance during a high, a bipolar sufferer may feel incredibly elated and as though they are unstoppable. They might feel full of energy and ready to take on the world, and whilst this initially sounds like a good thing this behaviour can soon change. This can then lead to the person who is bipolar making bad decisions, turning to stimulate drugs such as cocaine and consuming excessive amounts of alcohol. Some people also find that during a high they will get an overwhelming urge to spend large amounts of money that often they cannot afford. During these highs, often referred to as a manic episode, the sufferer may also feel angry and anxious.

During a low these feelings will switch to deep depression, and this can last for very prolonged periods of time and this can have a profound effect on the bipolar sufferer. They might not want to get up in the mornings so their work will suffer. They may find that they have little or no appetite so they will often lose weight and things that they once enjoyed hold no appeal. Some people who are bipolar also contemplate ******* so it is important that they have the right amount of care during a low.

These highs and lows can be mixed with times when the person with bipolar can feel quite well and as though they are not bipolar. This can be a tough time as it is at this point that some bipolar sufferers believe that they are cured and no longer have to take their prescribed medication. It is crucial that any medication prescribed, such as Lithium, to control and regulate the moods is taken every day at the set time. Such medication will help to control the symptoms of bipolar disorder and make life much more bearable for the sufferer. Without the correct medication bipolar disorder can become intolerable as the persons moods will fluctuate rapidly and this is very dangerous as they can put themselves at risk. However, when it is controlled properly bipolar disorder sufferers can live a perfectly normal and happy life.



Dawn

ssmith17 asked:


My grandmother has every symptom of bipolar disorder. My mom and both of my aunts are nurses and they confirm that she is bipolar. We can’t get her to understand that she is sick and get help. We got her to go to the hospital once and they wouldn’t keep her involuntery and she wouldn’t stay. Not only am I worried about her and her health, but she is making my family miserable. She told us all that she hopes we die, and has caused a rift between my mom and aunts. How can we get her to get help? Has anyone ever had this problem?

Shannon

Clive Harman asked:


Bipolar disorder in psychiatry is a medical diagnosis which refers to mania (mixed states or hypomania) alternated with euthymic or depressed mood (clinical depression) within a specific duration of time. Compared to ups and downs experienced by normal people, a person affected by a bipolar disorder can have extreme swings of moods which can last for a few minutes or even months. Changes in moods are often associated with disruption and distress with high suicidal tendencies. There are also instances linking bipolar disorder to extreme functioning. Most creative talents are attributing bipolar disorder on their creativity.

A bipolar disorder is categorized either as Type I or Type II. In Type I, a person may experience a full-blown mania. In Type II, the “highs” of a person never exceed the hypomania stage unless it was triggered by the mania medications. During manic periods, psychosis may occur. Rapid cycling is also possible. When talking about bipolar disorder, severity and problems connected with moods have its own variations. Thus, a bipolar spectrum disorder concept is employed more often which includes cyclothymia.

A bipolar disorder is involving periods of abnormally agitated moods which adds to the depressed mood condition.  The intensity and duration of mood condition widely varies among people diagnosed with a bipolar disorder. Moods can fluctuate from one state to another causing improved functioning or impairment depending on the highs and lows of moods and its severity. The energy level, social rhythms, cognitive functioning, activity level, and sleep pattern is also altered affecting the normal routine of a person.

The depression experienced by people having a bipolar disorder is similar to a clinical depression. The symptoms include persistent feelings of anxiety, sadness, anger, guilt, hopelessness, and isolation, appetite and sleep disturbances, fatigue, escapism, lack of interest on things once enjoyed, problems concentrating,  indifference or apathy, self-loathing, social anxiety or shyness, chronic pain, irritability, and suicidal tendencies.

When talking about disability, loss of productive years, potential suicidal tendency and duration, the periods of depression in a bipolar disorder are widely recognized today as the most severe problem of an individual. Sometimes, the mania periods are more disruptive and noticeable to other people.

Some types of serious depression are also accompanied by psychosis symptoms. It includes hallucinations (seeing, hearing, or sensing stimuli perceive to be there although it is not), delusions (false beliefs of a person that aren’t subject to contradictory evidence or reason and aren’t explained by a cultural concept), and escapism (creating diversions mentally to escape from unpleasant and perceived phases of stress).

These people may be also affected with paranoid thoughts that a powerful entity is monitoring or persecuting them. Some may think that those people who are close to them are conspiring and bullying against them. Greater levels of anxiety are felt without a cause. They felt that their family or friends are giving them up or leaving them. Unusual and intense religious beliefs is also present, thus some people strongly insists that historic and great missions are given to them to be accomplished believing that they have supernatural powers. Delusions can be more distressing in depressions. It is manifested in the form of a strong guilt for things that are supposedly done wrong inflicting the lives of other people. Numerous conflicting theories are created considering different causes associated with bipolar disorder. Nevertheless, nothing is accepted widely as correct.

The primary nature of a bipolar disorder is flux. It is the state of mental operation wherein a person is immersed fully on what she or he is doing, accompanied with a feeling of full involvement, energized focus, and success during the activity process. The biological markers of a bipolar disorder include mood, energy, sleep, activity, and thought. The bipolar disorder’s diagnostic subtypes are sometimes static snapshots of the descriptions of the continual changes of an illness.

According to the US NIMH (United States National Institute of Mental Health), there is no predetermined cause of a bipolar disorder. However, lots of factors are acting together to create the illness. This disorder also runs in families, thus most researchers are searching for a specific gene which increases the possibility of developing the disease. Most findings suggest that the disorder is caused by multiple genes similar to other mental diseases.

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Stella

Lina Smith asked:


Being diagnosed with an illness can often bring a sense of relief. It can help a person to make sense of the way they have been feeling for some time and draw a line under the frustration of not knowing what their condition was. At the same time though it can also bring up a whole host of new questions and worries, and this certainly happens when a person is diagnosed as being bipolar.

Bipolar disorder or disease as it is also known is a type of mood disorder that can send the bipolar person into manic highs and depressive lows. In between these periods, or episodes, the individual who is bipolar can feel totally normal and this is what can make having a diagnosis of bipolar disorder so hard to cope with.

Unfortunately being diagnosed with bipolar is seen as something as a stigma and this is due, in part to society not fully understanding the impact that being bipolar has on a person. Being diagnosed with bipolar is just the start of a long journey for a person who is striving to become well again and wants to function just like anyone else. It is all too easy to think that as soon as a person finds out they are bipolar all they have to do is to start taking their pills for the disease and this will miraculously cure them in no time. This assumption is wrong.

Instead being diagnosed with bipolar means that the person can now start to find what type of treatment will work the best for them and move forward with their lives. If you have had a recent diagnosis of bipolar you might have mixed feelings about what this will mean for your future so it is essential that you find out all you can about the condition.

Bipolar disorder can be treated in two main ways – with drugs which are prescribed specifically to the individual based on their own needs and the severity of their bipolar disorder and psychosocial treatments. Lithium is often used as it works very well as a mood stabiliser and there are different strengths of this available for doctors to prescribe for people diagnosed as being bipolar. Lamotrigine is also used if the patient has severe episodes of depression as this can help to alleviate the symptoms and further stabilise the mood. There is currently a strong debate over whether or not antidepressants should be used to treat those people who are bipolar as they have been known to be a trigger for depressive episodes, so it is quite unlikely that these would be prescribed.

Psychosocial treatments can come in the form of cognitive behaviour therapies and similar as these work at the core of bipolar disease and help to highlight emotional triggers for a sufferer. In fact many people believe that when used in conjunction with the correct drugs psychosocial therapy can make a big difference to the quality of life for a person who is bipolar.



Lonnie

Abhishek Agarwal asked:


Scientists all over the world have categorized bipolar disorder into two classes; Mania and depression. This is the reason why the disorder is also referred to as a manic depression.

Bipolar disorder is a disease of the brain and so is treated by a psychologist. People suffering from bipolar disorder are not in control of their emotions and experience extreme mood swings. This makes them very unpredictable and dealing with a person with bipolar disorder is very difficult.

A patient of bipolar disorder will be absolutely normal one minute and the next an eerie change will come over them. They may go into depression and go into a cocoon and stay there for a long time without interacting normally with people who try to communicate with them. Sometimes these patients will get so depressed that they will even contemplate suicide, many of them have been successful too. So care must be taken in dealing with a patient of bipolar disorder.

Recently doctors have been able to identify the kinds of bipolar disorder. Perhaps this is one step closer to finding a cure for this insane disease. Doctors say that there are two types of this disease. The patient is diagnosed as having type 1 or type 2 bipolar disorder based on the mood cycle or mood swing of the patient. Bipolar disorder type 1 is also called ‘raging bipolar disorder’. This conclusion is arrived at when the patient has experienced one attack of manic depression that has lasted at lease a week. The other form of bipolar disorder, type 2, or rapid cycling bipolar disorder’ is diagnosed when an attack of depression has lasted longer than 2 weeks and has been accompanied by a manic attack as well.

Bipolar disorder type 1 patients are prone to a severe type of mania known as ‘Hypommania’. This condition sets in when the patient is sleepless and has been up for an extended period of time. Typically the patient of type 1 bipolar disorder experiences mania along with severe mood swings. These patients are also prone to delusions and hallucinations.

The complications occur when the patient of type 1 bipolar disorder experiences a mixed episode of mania. This means that the patient is sad and happy at the same time. One indication of this condition is that the patient is very depressed, tries to smile and mainly has not had adequate sleep for many days. A profuse lack of concentration is also apparent.

It is extremely important to understand the symptoms of bipolar disorder in order to assist the doctor with the treatment of the disease. People with this disorder are entirely at the mercy of the ones they live with and those treating them. So a great deal of compassion must be shown to the patients of bipolar disorder – as there is no known cure, just treatment.



Cory

Gabe asked:


I understand bipolar 1 and 2, but other than psychosis is there anything else that defines the diagnoses “Severe bipolar depression with psychotic features” from the diagnoses bipolar 1 or bipolar 2?
yeah, im diagnosed bipolar 1 with psychotic features. but also read up on this diagnoses of ssevere bipolar depression with psychotic features

John

Sarah Freeman asked:


Many bipolar people are very talented but fail to reach their full potential. By providing cash awards for students in higher education, scholarships for people with bipolar disorder give practical support to the bipolar community.

However, relatively few such scholarships exist, and it can be difficult to discover information about them. According to the donor of a newly established bipolar scholarship, “Bipolar disorder is in the news constantly right now. This has done a lot of good in terms of raising awareness and shattering some of the myths about bipolar. However, this new awareness needs to be matched by practical measures that encourage and support the bipolar community. Many people with bipolar disorder are highly gifted, but show a pattern of under achieving. Higher education seems like the right place to focus on. There is a definite shortage of higher education scholarships for consumers of mental health services.”

Some pharmaceutical companies that produce medications for treating bipolar offer scholarships, and a few others are available from private foundations. Some are also offered by private donors. Ideally, such scholarships would encourage research, reflection, and creativity in communicating important information about bipolar disorder.

A problem with some of the few scholarships available for consumers of mental health services is lack of privacy and stigma. Particularly welcome would be more scholarships that do not require detailed disclosure of any medical details, or publicity for the recipient. This trend seems to be changing, according to the organizer of one of the recently established new bipolar scholarships, “Too often, shame is attached to the bipolar label and we need to attract as many applicants as possible.”

Another exciting trend is the creation of scholarships that cater to the creativity of people with bipolar. For example, inviting submissions using multimedia formats and YouTube videos, as well as conventional essays.

The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) suggest students with bipolar disorder concentrate their search at the state and local level, as this is where the majority of scholarship opportunities exist. It is also a good idea to focus on the college the student wishes to attend, and apply for a broad range of scholarships, instead of just those relevant to consumers of mental health services. In this way they can talk about conquering bipolar in the context of a larger life story, instead of being defined by the bipolar label.

Some commentators fear that recent tragedies such as the campus shooting in Virginia will further marginalize students who are identified as having mental health issues. However, the reality is that bipolar students are more likely to be victims of violent crime than to commit such crimes.

Too many brilliant but bipolar individuals are not as fulfilled and productive as they could be, due to the disruption of mood episodes, but also because of frustration from lack of education and self actualization.

Today some excellent online guides to scholarships for students with bipolar disorder exist. Anyone who feels they may be eligible should research these opportunities and take advantage of the support on offer.



Milton

Li Ming Wong asked:


Bipolar disorder is also known as manic depressive disorder. It is a mental illness that presents itself as mood swings or mood cycling. Many people do not realize that there are actually two types of bipolar disorder. Bipolar I disorder is typically defined as raging mood cycling with episodes of extreme mania and depression, as well as the occasional mixed episode. Bipolar I patients may also experience psychotic or hallucinating symptoms.

Bipolar II disorder is typically defined as rapid mood cycling with episodes of hypomania and depression. Bipolar II disorder does not occur with psychotic or hallucinating symptoms. Additionally, hypomania is defined as a milder form of mania, in which the patient has a period of hightened happiness or elation. Depression with bipolar II patients is often more severe than in patients with bipolar I disorder. Suicide, ******* threats, ******* attempts, and thoughts of ******* are much more common in bipolar II patients than bipolar I patients.

A diagnosis of bipolar II disorder is typically made when the patient has had one or more major depressive episodes, at least one hypomania episode, no manic episodes, and when no other reason for symptoms can be found.

Symptoms of depression with bipolar II disorder include decreased energy, unexplained weight changes, feelings of despair, increased irritability, and uncontrollable crying. Symptoms of hypomania include sleeplessness, racing thoughts, distractibility, excess energy, and rash judgements. These symptoms are similar to mania, but are less severe.

Treatment of bipolar II disorder typically involves a combination of medication and therapy or counseling. Medications typically prescribed for treatment of bipolar II disorder include anti-depressants such as Celexa, as well as mood stabilizers such as Topomax. Mood stabilizers are vitally important in treatment of bipolar disorders, because antidepressants alone can cause the patient to enter into a manic or hypomania episode.

Bipolar II disorder is actually often misdiagnosed as clinical depression. This is due to the fact that depression is most often present, and hypomania episodes rarely come to light in therapy sessions due to their upbeat nature. It is typically through treatment by antidepressants that the correct diagnosis is made, because the patient will spin into a hypomania episode almost immediately if the diagnosis should be bipolar II disorder rather than clinical depression.

Counseling or therapy treatment options for bipolar II disorder may include traditional counseling methods, discussion of triggers and life style changes that can lessen the severity of episodes, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Patients with a mild case of bipolar II disorder may benefit from counseling or therapy alone without medication. However, this is less common with bipolar II disorder than with bipolar I disorder, due to the nature of the severity of the depressive states.

It is vitally important for people with symptoms of bipolar II disorder to seek the help of mental health professionals as soon as symptoms become evident. Bipolar II disorder patients account for at least half of the suicides each year. To prevent suicidal behavior, it is important for bipolar II patients to be properly diagnosed at an early stage, so that ongoing treatment of the illness can begin and be continued in order to avoid suicidal behavior.



Tina