Posts Tagged ‘Environmental Factors’

Bipolar Mood Disorder – Important Facts Patients Must Know

It is important to learn about any bipolar mood disorder even more if there is a case in the family as the chief causes linked with the condition are genetic; some scientists are divided in their opinion about the disorder being caused due to environmental factors, but it is yet to be established. Even if there is no family history of persons diagnosed with bipolar mood disorder, it is important to educate the patient and family members in order to have a loyal, support group that is attentive to the patient’s needs and can provide an emotional prop through hard times.

The first and foremost thing people need to know about bipolar disorder is that it affects the emotional and mental equilibrium of the patient; this means, the person is likely to suffer intense and sudden mood swings. One minute the individual diagnosed with bipolar mood disorder will be happy and the next, he’ll be extremely sad and then swing back to ecstatic again!

Many a time family may notice this change but not give it due importance attributing it to adolescent pangs or new-life changes at the onset of adulthood, since this is the period when the disorder mostly manifests itself. However, detection of the disorder is important at the early stages for timely control and proper treatment to take place after accurate diagnosis has been established.

Due to the extreme and frequent mood swings, patients diagnosed with bipolar mood disorder tend to lose focus on one topic and their mind flits from one thought to another, with the result that they are unable to make good decisions and can end up harming themselves and loved ones.

Many bipolar disorder patients thus, tend to isolate themselves as they are embarrassed about what they will due since many do not have control over their emotions and can be easily overwhelmed by sudden mood swings; but patient care and counseling that this is the wrong way to go about setting things right will help them realize their condition, its limitations and the need to seek ready help.

Denial and aggression are two common reactions of a patient diagnosed with bipolar mood disorder and many may not even be open to considering medical treatment, which is essential in testing, classifying and controlling the extent of the illness – but keeping family and friends in the know is extremely important for coming to terms with the problem.

Even if initially patients find it hard to admit to being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, with the help of a good therapist, they can inform and educate family and friends about their condition; this will help make their immediate support circle more aware of their needs as they will better understand the situation i.e. why the individual is talking incessantly, getting depressed, considering suicide or attempting it or even at the risk of substance abuse.

It is a known fact that 1 out of 5 bipolar disorder patients commit suicide and therefore, to prevent these persons with a clinically established tendency towards self-harm and destruction, there is an added need to control their symptoms.

It is necessary to emphasize on the need for acknowledging, diagnosing, testing and regularly evaluating the patient for manic-depressive tendencies so that timely clinical therapy and medication can be combined to control their level of bipolar disorder and help them lead as normal a life as possible for them.

About Type 1 Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is a mental illness caused by a number of factors including neurological, biological, emotional, and environmental factors. It is typically characterized as mood cycling from manic, or extra happy, moods to depressed, or extra sad, moods.

Many people are not aware that in the last few years doctors have begun diagnosing bipolar disorder as two different types, based on how the moods cycle in the patient. Bipolar disorder type 1, also known as raging bipolar disorder, is diagnosed when the patient has at least one manic episode lasting at least one week or longer. Bipolar disorder type two, also known as rapid cycling bipolar disorder, is diagnosed when the patient has at least one manic episode and one depressive episode within four days to one week.

Hypomania is a severe form of mania that typically occurs in bipolar disorder type 1 patients. This state occurs because the patient is almost constantly up; the normal state for the patient is 1 of mania. Therefore, mood cycling in bipolar disorder type 1 patients often involves mania combined with the mood change. Mania combined with mania creates hypomania. Hypomania also can be accompanied by psychotic symptoms such as the patient becoming delusional or having hallucinations. This is a very simplistic way to describe how hypomania and mixed episodes occur.

Mixed episodes also often occur with bipolar disorder type 1. A mixed episode is hard to explain to the general public. It consists of being both happy and sad, up and down, all at the same time. Generally, this translates into the patient being very depressed emotionally, but displaying symptoms of mania such as inability to concentrate and lack of sleep.

Bipolar disorder type 1 is the most common type of bipolar disorder, and the most treatable. Because bipolar disorder type 1 typically manifests itself in the form of long manic periods with possibly one or two short depressive periods each year, treatment options are much more simple. Since mania requires one type of medication and depression requires another type of medication, the ability to treat only mania makes finding effective medications a much simpler task. Mood stabilizers are also quite effective with type 1 bipolar disorder, without the use of mania or depression medications.

The symptoms that the bipolar disorder type 1 patient experiences determines the type of mania medication used to control the excessive moods. In cases of mild but constant mania, lithium is the drug of choice. However, in cases in which mixed mania or hypomania are consistently present, a stronger drug or anti-psychotic, such as Depakote, is typically prescribed.

Bipolar type 1 is also the likeliest candidate for treatment via Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This is because the patient is most often in a state that allows them to easily focus their mind on rationalizing situations, recognizing triggers, and suppressing severe episodes. However, when the patient displays symptoms of hypomania, as some bipolar type 1 patients often do, cognitive behavioral therapy is not as effective during these episodes.

Overall, bipolar disorder type 1 is easily controlled through appropriate treatment and medications. If you experience any symptoms of bipolar disorder type 1 you should contact your doctor to make arrangements for diagnostic testing and to discuss treatment options. Ultimately, the patient is responsible for their own illness, and therefore, their own treatment.

Factors Triggering Bipolar Disorder – A Complete View Of The Problem…

The cause of bipolar disorder is not entirely known. Genetic, neuro-chemical 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.

Although, no one is quite sure about the exact causes of bipolar disorder, researchers have found some important clues. Bipolar disorder tends to be in the genes, meaning that it “runs in families.” About half the people with bipolar disorder have a family member with a mood disorder, such as depression.

A person who has one parent with bipolar disorder has a 15 to 25 percent chance of having the condition. A person who has a non-identical twin with the illness has a 25 percent chance of illness, the same risk as if both parents have bipolar disorder.
A person who has an identical twin (having exactly the same genetic material) with bipolar disorder has an even greater risk of developing the illness about an eightfold greater risk than a non-identical twin.

A study of adopted twins (where a child whose biological parent had the illness is raised in an adoptive family untouched by the illness) has helped researchers learn more about the genetic causes vs. environmental and life events causes. Bipolar disorder is primarily a biological disorder that occurs in a specific area of the brain and is due to the dysfunction of certain neurotransmitters, or chemical messengers, in the brain. These chemicals may involve neurotransmitters like norepinephrine, serotonin and probably many others. As a biological disorder, it may lie dormant and be activated on its own or it may be triggered by external factors such as psychological stress and social circumstances.

Environmental factors in bipolar disorder may be a life event which may trigger a mood episode in a person with a genetic disposition for bipolar disorder. Even without clear genetic factors, altered health habits, alcohol or drug abuse or hormonal problems can trigger an episode. Among those at risk for the illness, bipolar disorder is appearing at increasingly early ages. This apparent increase in earlier occurrences may be due to under diagnosis of the disorder in the past. This change in the age of onset may be a result of social and environmental factors that are not yet understood.

Although substance abuse is not considered a cause of bipolar disorder, it can worsen the illness by interfering with recovery. Use of alcohol or tranquilizers may induce a more severe depressive phase.

Yet another cause of bipolar depression is that caused by medications. Medications such as antidepressants can trigger a manic episode in people who are susceptible to bipolar disorder. Therefore, a depressive episode must be treated carefully in those people who have had manic episodes. Because a depressive episode can turn into a manic episode when an antidepressant medication is taken, an anti-manic drug is also recommended to prevent a manic episode. The anti-manic drug creates a “ceiling,” partially protecting the person from antidepressant-induced mania.

Certain other medications can produce a “high” that resembles mania. Appetite suppressants, for example, may trigger increased energy, decreased need for sleep and increased talkativeness. After stopping the medication, however, the person returns to his normal mood.