Bipolar Disorder

According to John-Hopkins University, almost 2% or the population suffers from bipolar disorder. Edgar Allen Poe, Vincent Van Gogh, Virginia Woolf and Winston ChurchillƒT are only some of the more distinguished group that fought this disorder in their lifetime.

Bipolar disorder is a complex psychiatric disorder. It affects the neurotransmitters of the brain, causing emotions to short circuit. The disease (bipolar is a disease) can hibernate for years within the body.  Then suddenly bipolar disorder will strike, putting the victim into either a manic stage, or one of unexplained euphoria.

Bipolar Depression:

Bipolar depression goes by other names: depressive mania, manic stupor, agitated depression.ƒU The difference between a normal depression and one brought about by bipolar disorder is that when someone is depressed because of something that has gone wrong in their life, they go about trying to fix it.

Those afflicted with bipolar depression become paralyzed in their depression, unable to pull themselves out of their depressive state. Many people fighting bipolar depression will attempt to harm themselves. 15% succeed in committing suicideƒV.  Without seeking proper medical intervention, the victim will remain in a depressive state.

Bipolar Depression Symptoms:

Bipolar despression symptoms can include:

• Sleep disruption- insomnia, or hypersomnia (sleeping too much)
• Significant changes in body weight
• Feeling worthless and sad
• Feeling guilty
• The inability to feel pleasure or happiness
• Feeling agitated
• Withdrawing from those around you
• The inability to focus and concentrate
• Periodic loss of short-term memory
• Indecisiveness
• Loss of sex drive
• Constipation
• Headaches
• Fatigue

In the psychosis state the symptoms are:

• Hallucinations
• Delusional thinking
• Catatonia

In this extreme stage without treatment or intervention, the patient will die.

Bipolar Disorder Diagnosis:

Care needs to be taken in diagnosing bipolar disorder; for there are a few medical reasons why patients may be acting out of sorts, or developing a manic personality.

The American Psychiatric Association has published a manual called Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or the DSVM IV. This manual is the resource tool for clinicians to turn to in diagnosing psychiatric disorders. The DSVM also contains statistics and general guidelines dealing with each category of psychiatric disorders. Although this manual is available in good reference libraries, it is not meant for self-diagnosis.

The DSM takes bipolar disorder and breaks it down into two categories. Bipolar I and Bipolar II; bipolar I contains mania and depression.

Bipolar II encompasses people who are depressed but who also suffer from hypomania (elevated mood swings, decreased desire to sleep, rapid thought patterns and other symptoms).

There is no test for bipolar disorder. No blood evaluations, x-rays, personality tests exist that will pinpoint who has bipolar disease and who does not. Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder. The person afflicted can swing from one end of the mood chart to the other at a moment¡¦s notice. 

It is also known as the disease that sleeps, because it can suddenly just hunker down and hibernates; waiting for the next inopportune time to strike. Bipolar disorder is hereditary according to the latest studies. There is no known cure, but there is treatment to lessen the effects.

Bipolar Disorder Treatment:

Originally Lithium became the drug of choice to treat bipolar disorder. Now other mood disorder drugs are available.

Which drug someone with bipolar disorder will be prescribed is strictly up to the clinician. Drugs such as Depakote, Tegritol, Lamictal, and Gabapentin are now on the table to help stabilize the moods of the patient. Talk to your doctor about all the possible side-effects of these drugs. Keep taking the drugs until your doctor tells you otherwise. Those who discontinue treatment will suffer relapses.

1. Francis MarkMondimore M.D.  Bipolar Disorder- A Guide for Patients and Families The John Hopkins University Press 1999 (pg ix)
2.  Francis MarkMondimore M.D.  Bipolar Disorder- A Guide for Patients and Families The John Hopkins University Press 1999 (pg 2)
3. Affective Disorders of the Family Assessment and Treatment edited by John F. Clarkin, Gretchen L. Haas, and Ira D. Glick  The Guilford Press.