Posts Tagged ‘Severe Mood Swings’

A Primer on the Dangers of Bipolar Depression

Bipolar Disorder is characterized by several mood disorders, the most notable of all being Bipolar Depression. Bipolar depression is marked by at least one “manic episode,” and is assumed to be a chronic condition due to the fact that most individuals who suffer from a manic episode almost certainly suffer more in the future.

Without preventative treatment, a person suffering from Bipolar Disorder may suffer a manic episode every two and a half years, as shown by statistics. He/she would present a unique mood cycle (one that usually combines manic episodes and periods of depression) that can be predicted once it is identified.

Studies have suggested that it occurs much more widely in families with a history of the Disorder. Bipolar Depression usually begins during a patient’s teenage years or early adulthood, and persists throughout the rest of his/her life. Bipolar Depression occurs in episodes and is often dismissed as something temporary, rather than as a serious psychological problem. Individuals with Bipolar Disorder may suffer from it for years without treatment as a result.

Mania and depression are known to be the two polar opposites of human emotion, thus giving rise to the term “Bipolar.” The term describes the severe mood swings between these two emotional poles. The Bi polar Disorder is also known as “Bi polar Affective Disorder,” “Bipolar Personality Disorder,” “Bipolar Mood Disorder,” “Manic Depression,” and “Manic Depressive Illness,” all of which refer to the same psychological problem. At any moment, slightly more than one out of every hundred Americans suffer from Bi polar Depression.

In a manic episode, a person may feel euphoric, excessively happy, and hyperactive. Some individuals may even display delusions of grandeur. When the manic phase passes into the “depressed phase,” the individual’s mood changes drastically. He/she may then experience deep sadness and despair, and may even harbor thoughts of suicide. These unusually severe mood swings occur to individuals suffering from Bipolar Depression many times during their lives, although the frequency may vary greatly from person to person. Some may experience several of these episodes in a single year, while others may only experience one or two in a lifetime.

Not all episodes begin in the manic phase, however – an episode may begin in with the sufferer falling into a deep depressive phase, which eventually gives way to the manic phase. Most Bipolar Depression patients experience their first severe mood swing in their teenage years or early twenties – some have even been found to suffer their first episode before the age of ten. All in all, most patients experience their first attack of Bipolar Depression before the age of 50. Onsets of the problem during the 70’s and 80’s are rare, although they do happen.

No matter the individual’s age, Bipolar Depression affects both susceptible men and women in nearly equal numbers. Many sufferers – especially those unaware of their condition – may use drugs or alcohol during manic episodes in an attempt to treat themselves. This often results in the development of secondary substance abuse problems, which only serve to aggravate their condition.

On the other hand, some studies have found significant links between creativity and Bipolar Depression, albeit very unclear ones. One study indicated an increased drive towards achieving personal goals in individuals suffering from Bipolar Depression. While not always the case, individuals with suffering from it also tend to be more extroverted and outgoing than those without.

Bipolar Depression has also been found in a large number of individuals involved in the arts, and studies are currently being taken to discover why many creative geniuses have Bipolar Depression.

How the Signs of Bipolar Affective Disorder Often Affect People

Bipolar affective disorder is a medical condition marked by mood swings that are much more severe than what most normal people undergo every now and then. The condition is more commonly known as manic-depression or bipolar depression, and combines episodes of deep, brooding depression with extremely elated moods (“mania”). The frequency and intensity of these severe mood swings differ among sufferers.

Estimates state that more than one percent of the population suffers from bipolar affective disorder at least once in their lifetimes. While many sufferers go through a manic-depressive stage at least once every few years, others may take longer between attacks, making the condition difficult to diagnose. Once recognized, however, it is possible to treat the symptoms.

Bipolar affective disorder affects the brain, identifying it as a mental illness. It arises from irregularities in the brain’s physical structure (particularly in the hippocampus area) and chemical processes. Individuals suffering from bipolar affective disorder experience mood highs and lows that are drastically above normal intensity. When mood swings persist in frequency, it often results in the individual being unable to function properly at work or at home. This also results in faulty decision-making skills and strained relations with the people around them.

Experts have identified two classifications of Bipolar affective disorder. Physicians make diagnoses based on the symptoms that the sufferers display.

•Bipolar I Disorder. An individual with Bipolar I Disorder suffers at least one manic episode (a “high” mood) or mixed episodes (fluctuating moods between depression and mania, often happening very quickly), in addition to at least one major episode of depression.

•Bipolar II Disorder. Less severe, Bipolar II Disorder subjects a sufferer to at least one major episode of depression and at least one “hypomanic” episode, or one in which the individual experiences a happy mood, but not so happy as to obstruct good judgment and function (as opposed to mania).

In order to diagnose a patient as suffering from one of the two types of Bipolar affective disorder, other special conditions and circumstances that may also cause the abovenoted symptoms must be ruled out. The individual’s medical history will be thoroughly checked for any previous records of mental illness. The patient’s family history will also be checked for any prior accounts of similar mood illnesses. In the future, blood tests may also help in arriving at more accurate diagnoses of Bipolar affective disorder.

Bipolar affective disorder affects approximately three out of every two hundred people in the general population, and more people suffer from Bipolar I than Bipolar II Disorder. At any given moment, from one to two million Americans are affected by Bipolar affective disorder. Research has so far failed to determine whether Bipolar affective disorder is more likely to affect certain races or ethnicity. What has been determined, however, is that Bipolar I Disorder affects both men and women in equal frequency and intensity, while Bipolar II Disorder occurs more frequently in women. Women are also more susceptible to rapid cycling, when depressive and manic stages follow each other in quick succession, usually at least four times in a single year.

To date, Bipolar affective disorder has no cure. Research, however, has made great strides in understanding this lifelong mental illness, and experts are confident that better treatments (and even cures) for Bipolar affective disorder will develop in the near future. For now, those suffering from Bipolar affective disorder may rest assured that its negative effects can be mitigated with medication and modifications in lifestyle.

What is the best treatment for bipolar disease?

I was diagnosed as bipolar last year but couldn’t tolerate any of the meds. I’m on an antidepressant now, but am still having some pretty severe mood swings. Are there any bipolar meds that don’t have very severe side effects?