Bipolar Disorder: A Case Study

Ever felt extremely happy one day and terribly depressed the next, as if you were on an emotional roller coaster? How about spontaneously spending $5,000 on a shopping spree that you have no use for? Imagine being so depressed that you want to commit suicide because dinner was not the meal you had in mind. Each of these actions may seem completely farfetched to the average person; however, actions similar to these are a reality for nearly 5.8 million adults in the United States that suffer from an illness called bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder, historically referred to as manic depressive illness, is an

Bipolar disorder has been gaining more and more attention over the last few years. With shootings on the rise, or at least the publicity of them, people are often pointing their fingers at mental diseases including bipolar disorder. An ongoing issue regarding mental illnesses, however, is the population has failed to fully understand what they truly are, the symptoms, and how to treat them.

Bipolar disorder also known as manic depressive illness is a brain disorder that causes shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out everyday task (National Institute of Mental Health, 2016). Every year, 2.9% of the U.S population is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, with nearly 83% of causes being classified as severe (NAMI). According to Miller, Ghadiali, Larusso, Wahlen, Ani-Barron, Mittal, Greene (2015), bipolar disorder is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Most people that experience this disorder experience highs and lows of the illness. In this paper, various components of bipolar disorder will be discussed. The components include: population dynamics, physical illnesses that accompany the disorder, risk factors and social determinants, treatment, prevention, health promotion, and cultural differences found globally.

First, the individuals who are tested for bipolar disorder are typically those who are over the age of 18, meaning that a large amount of people who have bipolar disorder are not actually diagnosed, or their information has not been aggregated. Therefore, the actual total number of people who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder could very well reach higher to an estimated five percent of the population (Van Meter, Moreira, Youngstrom, 2011, p. 1254). The overall ailment typically manifests before the age of 25, and then an individual begins experiencing a variety of symptoms that make one’s mental health difficult to

Famous celebrities such as Demi Lovato, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mel Gibson and Jim Carrey are proof that bipolar I disorder can be treated and still have a full and productive life. Like any other diseases such as heart disease or diabetes, bipolar I disorder is a long-term disorder that must be carefully managed throughout one’s life. Some psychotherapies can help with the treatment of bipolar I disorder with manic psychotic features such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), interpersonal and family therapies, and psycho-education. The CBT is used to identify negative thoughts and behaviors and learn to modify them to create a positive change. Interpersonal and family therapies help to manage the patient’s symptoms and needs that improve relationships and communications. Lastly, psycho-education which can be used to educate people with bipolar disorder as well as their family members to help identify the signs of mood swings before they happen. Since bipolar I disorder with manic psychotic feature is essentially a long-term condition, it is recommended that the client remains in family session therapy for as long as the client is receiving medications. Therefore, since there is no cure for bipolar I disorder, a thorough investigation of the client’s symptoms and family history along with the combination of medication and psychotherapy can lead to successful treatment and management of the

(2000) explained that the prevalence of bipolar spectrum disorder is between 2.6% and 6.5%, which can be compared to the prevalence of drug abuse which is 4.4%. Bipolar can be classified as a spectrum disorder because it forms an umbrella for bipolar I disorder, bipolar II disorder, cyclothymia, and bipolar disorder not otherwise specified. Unfortunately, bipolar spectrum disorders often go undiagnosed and therefore untreated. With that, Hirschfelt et all (2000), emphasizes the importance of recognizing this disorder. With recognition, these individuals can seek intervention for this disorder and decrease its symptoms and its progression. One way to diagnose this disorder is to screen for it by performing a mood disorder questionnaire. The researchers created a one-page, self-report, paper-and-pencil inventory that can be easily evaluated and administered. The questions were derived from the DSM-IV criteria at the time, but have been updated to the newest version’s clinical

            Before researching this topic, I used to think that Bipolar Disorder was a very rare mental illness and in most cases, a misdiagnoses. There are many misconceptions about Bipolar Disorder and mental illness as a whole. Bipolar Disorder has become an epidemic in America and affects nearly everyone in some way. The term Bipolar is increasingly being misused to describe someone having a bad day or being excessively happy. Over the past generation, Bipolar has began to be used as an adjective to describe how people are feeling or acting.  Most of us know someone who either has Bipolar Disorder or someone affected by it. The purpose of this essay is to examine Bipolar Disorder and determine the best way for individuals, along with their loved one’s to manage the disorder. This will hopefully help people understand what a friend or family member is going through and even help an individual struggling with Bipolar Disorder. Better yet, it could inspire others to research and spread ideas to someday cure Bipolar Disorder. Citizens can call upon their elected officials to increase access to mental health services (counseling, therapy, medications) for people diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and support the families that are affected.

“The evidence is so strongly compelling that bipolar [disorder] is a largely biologic-based disorder that pharmacologic intervention is the mainstay of treatment,” (p.111) It is crucial to find a wide assortment of ways in order to treat this disorder because every case of the illness varies from patient to patient. In some cases, a medication that works efficiently for a group of patients may have little to no effect or adverse effects to another group of patients. It is important to utilize psychotherapies such as cognitive, behavioral, and psychoeducational approaches in order to supplement the prescribed medications, as medications cannot “teach” the patient different coping skills like therapy can. Even though medication alone is not always the most effective way of treating patients, “some of the most convincing evidence in favor of a biological etiology remains the relatively good response to pharmacotherapy and the extremely poor response to purely psychological interventions,” (p. 110). In turn, those patients have a better probability to enter into remission and transition into more productive and higher quality

Poorer self-consideration may add to higher stoutness rates such as things like the absence of exercise, less medical care, and dull lifestyles. These medical conditions just fuel the anxiety, depression, and battles of the bipolar illness itself. “A high percent of bipolar disorder patients present with anxiety disorders, personality disorders, and substance abuse” (Leahy 2007). Each one of these comorbid disorders add to all the more adapting troubles. “Higher rates (19.4%) of bipolar disorder are found in patients with borderline personality disorder than among patients with other personality disorders” (Leahy 2007). According to Leahy’s article, “bipolar individuals with comorbid alcohol abuse will have higher rates of rapid cycling, symptom severity, suicidality, aggressively and impulsivity” (Leahy). Unfortunately bipolar disorder is generally misdiagnosed as unipolar depression. “Depending on the population, between 7% and 52% of patients diagnosed with unipolar depression actually have bipolar disorder” (Culpepper2015) and could possibly go unrecognized for a long time or more from manifestation onset to first treatment. One study reported that patients were misdiagnosed an ordinary of 3.5 times and had seen 4 specialists before being precisely analyzed. “In addition, 60% of misdiagnosed patients felt that doctors had an insufficient comprehension of bipolar disorder”(Culpepper2015). To confirm the determination of bipolar disorder,

Markus Nothen, who is a professor at the University of Bonn, Germany, has said that there are many different genes that interact with environmental factors (Muhleisen et al., 2014). Some environmental factors would include stress and drug or alcohol dependency. Families need to be educated about this disorder so they can be aware of the symptoms. Treatment can be administered for this illness especially if there is a family history. Many people are diagnosed with depression and given medication that does not help with their bipolar symptoms (Llewellyn, Stowe & Strader, 2014). Antidepressants are prescribed for major depression and a bipolar patient needs more medication for their disorder. The medications that are taken for depression could cause more harm to the person’s psychological behavior. When it takes longer to diagnose bipolar disorder a person’s depression may get worse and cause harmful effects in their everyday life. Bipolar disorder is often overlooked or misdiagnosed when a person’s aggression and anger happen frequently. People in a manic episode tend to show poor judgment by being argumentative and may destroy property while having an episode of anger (Nevid, 2014, p 257). Men are more likely to experience these manic episodes and go overboard on drinking and have destructive behavior and women have more depressive episodes that include weight gain and insomnia ( Duerr, 2014). Stressful life events increase a

There has been a spike in adolescents being diagnosed with bipolar disorder over the last decade, which has caused the controversy on whether there is a bipolar disorder “epidemic” or not. Although there are obstacles in being diagnosed with bipolar disorder that may interfere with one’s everyday life, such as: manic episodes, mood swings, restlessness, impulsivity, potential harm to you and others, and much more. With the epidemic, it has raised the concern on whether people are being properly diagnosed or not. Being diagnosed with any kind of disorder comes with changes and challenges that affect you and the ones you surround yourself with, whether it’s family, friends, classmates, teachers, coworkers, and other peers. For those being

Bipolar disorder, also called manic-depressive disorder, is a disease that affects thousands of people all over the United States of America. According to Sarris (2011) approximately 1-2% of adults will be affected by bipolar disorder in their lifetime. While some individuals may go undiagnosed, the prevalence percentage can raise to as much as 4% when including milder subclinical presentations (Sarris, 2011). Bipolar disorder can cause severe dysfunction in the lives of those afflicted with it. Family life, job status, and other social experiences can all be negatively impacted. This is especially true of people who do not obtain