Mental Illness Essay

Living with a person who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, or even being a family member who has a genuine concern for this individual’s well-being is a strenuous process. Learning how to recognize and handle disruptive behavior, understanding the symptoms, supporting the individual through potential treatment or recovery periods and assessing the overall situation in the most effective manner is a long-term and constant commitment. Thus, family members, particularly those who take on the role of caregiver are often impacted as severely, if not more so than the person who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, at least on the surface. Bipolar disorder and

Key points: There were several key points described in this chapter that validated psychosocial treatments. This analysis will only focus on the discussion of the research study that focused on the efficacy of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for bipolar affective disorder. This chapter discussed a study of twenty-eight people (Cochran, 1984) who received outpatient CBT for a bipolar disorder diagnosis. The study was designed to change the way half of the participants (14) would think and behave so that they would better comply with their medication regime. Fourteen participants received six weekly CBT sessions for one hour, in addition to pharmacological interventions. The other

For an episode to be categorized as manic, the patients’ mood has been irritable or abnormally elevated for at least 1 week. A person must also exhibit at least 3 of the following symptoms (4 if the mood is only irritable): extreme feelings of personal greatness; a decreased need for sleep, marked talkativeness; distractibility; extreme focus on a goal-directed activity; reports of ‘racing’ thoughts or a flight of ideas; or excessive involvement in pleasurable activities that have a high potential for painful consequences (i.e. sexual indiscretions or unintelligent business investments). As in the criteria for a depressed episode, the DSM-IV specifies that these symptoms should not be better explained as being a side effect of a drug or illness to qualify as a manic episode. These symptoms must interfere with the person’s normal functioning and must not meet the criteria for a mixed episode. As with adults, childhood-onset bipolar disorder has many faces. Children with Bipolar I Disorder have episodes of mania and episodes of depression, sometimes there are long periods of normal moods between episodes. Adults usually tend to have more depressed episodes than manic episodes. However, some children will have chronic mania (symptoms of mania lasting for long periods of time or marked by frequent recurrence) and seldom experience a depressed episode.

Bipolar disorder is a manic-depressive lifelong illness in the brain that causes shifts in mood, energy, activity, and the ability to carry out normal tasks, but efficient treatment helps people to manage these complications and normalize their daily lives. This illness is a very serious mental disease affecting about 2.6 percent of adults in the United States that has the power to cause risky behavior and even suicidal tendencies if not treated (www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/bipolar-disorder/index.shtml). It is more common in older teens and young adults, but it affects children as young as six years old. It affects men and women, all races, ethnic groups, and socioeconomic classes equally but women experience more periods of depression than

“Up to one-third of the 3.4 million children and adolescents with depression in the United States may actually be experiencing the early onset of bipolar disorder.”, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The battle with bipolar disorder has a severe impact on the life of adolescents resulting in the need for medication. Medication is needed for adolescents with bipolar disorder due to the fact is has negative impact on social life, academics, and on physical health.Bipolar disorder is classified as a mood disorder in which people experience series of “manic highs” and “depressed low”.

According to The Public Health Agency of Canada (2013), mental illness is described as a modification in an individual’s mood, behaviour, and thinking process which is associated with significant distress and impaired mental function. This paper will aim to discuss the information taken from two home visits and using it to determine its effect on the family as a unit. My single concept that is relevant to the family’s experience is the family’s bond throughout the clients challenge with bipolar disorder (BPD). In this case, the chronic disease known as bipolar disorder (also known as manic-depression) are known as mood swings that can last up to days, weeks, or even months. They are generally caused by environmental pressures that surround the individual on a daily basis such as family, work, and social environmental pressures, stress, injury, and/or illness (PHAC, 2009). When a family member is effected by any chronic illness, there is a great impact on the other members of the family. Chronic illnesses can have an extremely stressful effect on individuals that are trying to adapt to these changes, which can also shape the families’ way of coping with the situation as well (Dobbie & Mellor, 2008).

The illness can appear at a rate of one in 200 children and will more likely affect them when a parent has the disorder. (Hotline Information) Children’s moods are hard to read, causing more difficulty diagnosing it. The mood swings do not last as long as they do in adulthood, at times it can even fluctuate from hour to hour. (Cognitive Flexibility and Performance in Children and Adolescents with Threshold and Subthreshold Bipolar Disorder) Distinguishing the disorder from ADHD makes things even more complex, being as the symptoms are very similar. (Bipolar Disorder in Children) Giving children medication for this disorder is not too

Since the 1990s, the amount of children who are diagnosed with a form of bipolar disorder have rocketed sky high. Children, like adults can possibly have neurological issues in the brain that does not allow them to function properly. These children are seen as hyperactive, aggressive people who are not able to control themselves mentally and emotionally. They can be described as a “ticking time bomb”, and people having to walk on eggshells around them, not knowing if it is going to be the euphoric or the depressed child, they are going to be dealing with. In this literature review, the following topics will be mentioned: the description of what bipolar disorder is; the types of bipolar disorders; the child’s state of mind in the disorder; the causes of bipolar disorder; The DSM-V criteria for diagnosing Bipolar disorder; and the treatment of the disorder.

At least 2 million Americans suffer from bipolar disorder, more commonly known as manic-depression. This illness usually begins in adolescence or early adulthood and continues throughout life. Although it may come into affect at any time, most individuals with the disorder experience their first mood episode in their 20’s. However, manic-depression quite often strike teenagers and has been diagnosed in children under 12.

Bipolar disorder is typically a condition that affects people in their late teens and early adulthood. It is usually not thought to affect a child but it is something that, if present at a young age, can seriously affect the way a child grows up. Bipolar disorder affects every aspect of a person’s life and is not as understood as it should be. Researchers are still looking for the cause of this illness and how it can be treated but overall it is a condition that many people are undereducated on and that is something I’m hoping this paper might be able to change for some.

For many years, Bipolar Disorder (BP) has played a major role in peoples’ everyday lives. According to the DSM-5, this particular disorder is a striking period of unusually and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood, alternating with or accompanied by one more major depressive episodes. I confess, my best-friend was affected by this problem growing up. This problem arose when I learned that my best-friend suffered from symptoms that included agitation, sleeplessness, pressured speech, racing thoughts, and sexual disinhibition. Growing up, it was rather difficult to see my friend suffer from this disorder because it has hindered her everyday life. A study done showed that bipolar diagnoses are also on the rise among children and

Because bipolar disorders are generally recurrent, maintenance treatment is usually needed. This is especially true when there have been multiple episodes, a clear family history of bipolar disorder or symptom onset before age 18. Effective maintenance

Bipolar disorder is manic depressive illness a disorder in which a person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania(macmillan). There is an increase in prevalence over recent years of children at an early age that have been diagnosed with the with bipolar disorder. There is a switch in being in this depressive state then rapidly switching over to a manic state. This disorder to known to shift moods, emotions, and behavior throughout the day for children, but what about the parents? Are the parents of the children with the disorder suffering as well as the children, especially the ones who care primarily for the children without the basic resources or help they need? There is shown a lack of help from the system, such as relatives, educators and health professionals, creating these antisocials relation between the parents and the system of people. In the article “Crying Alone With My Child” Parenting A School Child Diagnosed With Bipolar Disorder, there is a discussion and study displaying that parents are infact experiencing health implications as well as mental problems with caring primarily for their children, without the necessary help, as well as giving an answer that can decrease these problems.