What is Bipolar Disorder? Bipolar Disorder causes a person to function as if their brain has a 3 speed gear box. They have periods when they are
Normal
, periods when they are Depressed, and other periods when they are Manic or “Hyper” or “Hypo”. They have unbalanced and unstable production and flows of the chemicals and electricity in their brain that determine their moods, energy levels, emotional intensity and the pace or speed of their thoughts (racing thoughts when high), activities or actions.
This disorder is basically an inherited disorder which runs in families, but its severity is influenced by lifestyle (diet, exercise, stress, drugs, etc) and by life traumas. Undiagnosed, untreated Bipolar (Mood Swings) Disorder is one of the commonest causes of a troubled life and when all else fails chronically troubled people should be given a mood stabilizer for a week’s trial during an overactive, irritable, anxious period and they will very quickly know if they have Bipolar Disorder.Chronic Anxiety that doesn’t respond well to tranquilizers often responds to anticonvulsant mood stabilizers and turns out to be Hypomania, not Anxiety or Hypomania and Anxiety.
This disorder is basically an inherited disorder which runs in families, but its severity is influenced by lifestyle (diet, exercise, stress, drugs, etc) and by life traumas. Undiagnosed, untreated Bipolar (Mood Swings) Disorder is one of the commonest causes of a troubled life and when all else fails chronically troubled people should be given a mood stabilizer for a week’s trial during an overactive, irritable, anxious period and they will very quickly know if they have Bipolar Disorder.Chronic Anxiety that doesn’t respond well to tranquilizers often responds to anticonvulsant mood stabilizers and turns out to be Hypomania, not Anxiety or Hypomania and Anxiety.
In the Manic “Hyper” Periods you are racy, fast, go go, emotionally very intense, with non stop loud talking, over optimism or euphoria, “racing thoughts” that fly through your mind, and far too much energy. You can’t or don’t sleep much, may be irritable and may spend your money thoughtlessly and recklessly. Serious Manic Periods can get you into financial difficulties or even send you bankrupt if you over-commit yourself because of hypomanic recklessness and over-optimism. Manic Periods stress and damage your relationships and can lead to losing your job, serious family difficulties, or divorce. A few people become sexually driven and uninhibited when manic. People with Bipolar Disorder usually prefer being Hypo to being Depressed but being Hypo is usually more dangerous than being Depressed. Some Bipolar people are mostly Depressed and seldom “Hypo”, some are mostly “Hypo” and rarely Depressed and some are mostly normal and only infrequently Depressed or Hypo.
Bipolar Disorder doesn’t usually develop fully till the teens or twenties. It is sometimes present but difficult to be sure of in childhood. In a few cases it doesn’t show up till the thirties or later. Bipolar Disorder is frequently misdiagnosed as Anxiety and/or Major Depression. It is often not diagnosed when it develops in a person who already has ADD – it is just thought that their ADD has got worse and isn’t responding to treatment. The average person with Bipolar Disorder takes 10 years to get it correctly diagnosed. Some people have it for 40 or 50 years before it is correctly diagnosed. No doubt some people suffer with it all their adult life and die with it without ever being diagnosed or treated properly. They are just thought to be difficult or eccentric. Some Bipolar People resort to self-medication with large amounts of Alcohol, Benzodiazepines, Marijuana or even Heroin, when they are Manic, to try to calm themselves, or to be able to sleep, or to block out all the troubles they get into when they are Hypo. Neither Alcohol, nor Benzodiazepines nor Marijuana are strong enough to control Hypomania but if they don’t receive Mood Stabilizers or Major Tranquilizers these people may take such large amounts of Alcohol, Benzos and/or Marijuana that they become heavily addicted to them.
Most of our Bipolar patients do very well because we correctly diagnose them early by getting every patient to do our comprehensive Beck Mini DISCOMFORTS/DYSFUNCTIONS Checklist. That way nothing gets missed. We then teach Bipolar (Mood Swing) patients to quickly recognize when their brain changes gears from
Normal
to Depressed or to Manic and how to adjust their medicines according to whichever gear their brain is in. We put them on an Anticonvulsant/Mood Stabilizer and/or a Major Tranquilizer as well as an SNRI antidepressant, usually Escitalopram is the best. They take small to medium doses of these medications permanently and increase the Mood Stabilizers when manic and increase the Antidepressants when depressed. We teach them how to prevent, minimize and manage the Low and the High Periods. It has been found that Bipolar patients do better if they eat at regular times, sleep at regular times and minimize alcohol consumption.
Tricyclic antidepressants sometimes stimulate Bipolar patients to become Hypomanic and should be given with caution. This problem is much less common with SNRI antidepressants, but should still be watched for and Escitalopram seems least likely to do this. Many Adult ADD patients also have Bipolar Disorder and Bipolar Disorder should always be looked for in people with ADD. If it is present Dexamphetamine should only be given with care, to avoid causing Hypomania. I usually prefer stimulant SNRI’s to Dexamphetamine in these cases. If a Bipolar patient is changing rapidly from hypomania to depression to hypomania (called Rapid Cycling) the antidepressant could be causing this and may need to be reduced, changed or stopped.
We teach our Bipolar patients to take full advantage of their artistic and musical gifts, originality, inventiveness, lateral thinking, literary and problem solving gifts, above average intelligence and sporting gifts that so often go with Bipolar Disorder. Sir Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain during World War II, suffered from Bipolar Disorder, was a failure at school and left school at the age of 12. Some people consider he was the greatest Englishman who ever lived, and that without his wartime efforts we would have been ruled by the Nazi’s. Bipolar Disorder definitely has positives and people who have this Disorder should be helped to look for and take advantage of these Positives. A very significant proportion of high achievers have Bipolar Disorder but they may crash and burn from going over the top into Mania, or from drug use if their Disorder is not diagnosed and treated. It is probable that that was Heath Ledger’s problem. Many gifted performers and high flying business people who crash have Bipolar (Mood Swing) Disorder.
* Please feel free to copy, reprint or forward from this blog, provided that any quotes are not taken out of context and accurately retain their original meaning, appropriate links are made and the following copyright notice is attached in full: "Copyright 2010, www.ADDSelfHelp.com"
Coming Up:
"What is ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder)? Know About The Big 7 Commonest Nervous Disorders -
5. ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder)"
is coming soon!
Stay Tuned!
Comments
Post has no comments.