Bipolar Disorder Analysis

The second episode is depressive or depression stage. This episode includes a long period of feeling worried or empty, such as lost of interest in activities once enjoyed. During a manic episode the patient will show signs of talking very fast, being overly distracted, sleeping for 2 hours and feeling really rested, or the patient might even find him or herself quitting a job for no reason, some of the patients experimenting this episode can also charge up huge amounts in their credit cards. During a depressive episode the patient might feel like sleeping for hours or not sleeping at all, also everything people do affects them. Patients with bipolar disorder often go through depression more then they go through a manic episode. These episodes of bipolar disorder can last up for days, weeks, or even months. Patients experiencing these mood swings are not the same as experiencing everyday mood swings; the mood swings of bipolar patients are very severe that they interfere sometimes with the ability to function with their everyday life.

There are many concerns when it comes to the mental health of individuals throughout the world. Mental health problems can manifest in a variety of different ways and range in severity from attention deficits to hallucinations. One of the most severe forms of disorders that can affect an individual is bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is a brain disorder that presents a wide variety of different symptoms that affect the ability of an individual to live a complete and satisfied life. By examining the overall prevalence of the ailment, its symptoms, and the forms of treatments available, a more complete understanding of bipolar disease can emerge.

This paper analyzes bipolar disorder and the symptoms that come along with it. Bipolarity effects a decent percentage of America and does not target a specific gender, race, age, or ethnicity. It is treatable; however, not curable ailment. Those who are not affected by bipolarity must realize that it is important to help those dealing with the condition cope with the side effects of their mental state.

Varying moods and energy levels have been a part of the human experience throughout history. As time has progressed and these mood changes have been identified as disorders. One example, bipolar disorder is perhaps one of the oldest known diseases. It has grown into one of the most common illnesses that people of every age, culture, and gender must deal with on an everyday basis. In recent times bipolar disorder has become quite prevalent in children and adolescents causing and increased concern and interest in this area.

Because Bipolar Disorder is a mood disorder, the causes are unknown. (Bipolar Disorder) Even though they don’t know the root of the illness, doctors have found reasons that could have contribution. One of these would be genetics and its most common with people who have relatives that have already been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. Also, after research doctors have discovered that patients with bipolar disorder seem to have physical deviations with their brains. Another factor could be a chemical imbalance with neurotransmitters. They also have discovered that stress, alcohol, and drugs could also initiate the first manic episode. (Mayo Clinic)

Bipolar disorder has become more prevalent in the United States, particularly Bipolar Disorder II, which accounts for 30-50% of patients with depression (Thomas & Hersen, 2002). Historically bipolar was known as manic depression (Thomas & Hersen, 2002). According to National Institute of Mental Health (n. d.) “Most scientists agree that there is no single cause, rather many factors that act together to produce the illness or increase the risk” (NIMH, n. d.) Some of those factors can be family, workplace, and environmental stressors along with some precipitants such as: history of past suicide, medical issues, interpersonal conflicts, disputes, job related failure (Thomas & Hersen, 2002). On the other hand, DSM IV categorizes bipolar according to severity, duration, and quality of presenting manic symptoms (Thomas & Hersen, 2002). Its believed that the onset of Bipolar diagnosis is mid 20’s (NIMH, n. d.).

Viewing the serotonin (as well as other neurotransmitters directly responsible for mood such as endorphins, and dopamine) levels of a bipolar patient will often resemble a sine curve—with consistent crests and troughs, and an episode refers to one crest or trough on the curve. Bipolar I disorder is similar to bipolar II, but patients typically alternate between mania and depression, rather than elevated mood (hypomania) of bipolar II. The bipolar patient typically suffers multiple episodes over the course of a year, each usually lasting three to six months (Kessler 1994). If more than four episodes occur within a 12-month period, the patient is said to be in ‘rapid-cycling’ (Coryell 2003).

Bipolar disorder (BP) is a mood disorder that is considered to affect the emotional regulation of individuals who have it (Blaney, Krueger, & Millon, 2015, p.234). Bipolar disorder is also believed to compromise the executive functioning, attention, planning, and regulation for the individuals who have it (Blaney, Krueger, and Millon, 2015, pp.234-235). As a consequence, BP may cause serious adverse consequences to the individuals who have it. According to Singh and Muhammad (2006), bipolar disorder is often unrecognized or misdiagnosed when patients are initially seen when seeking treatment for mood symptoms. Furthermore, unrecognized or misdiagnosis of BP may lead to ineffective treatment and increased risk of mood episodes (Consequences

The causes of Bipolar Disorder can be considered in two groups: those that work their way out from inside, and those that work their way inside from without. Considering the first, we can list these as: genes, chemistry and the hormones in our bodies. The cause that we most often hear about is that of genes. These provide the recipes for the make-up of proteins. Proteins ultimately affect the brain, body and our behaviour – in essence, us. Similarly, the body and the environment can, surprisingly, alter genes. In Bipolar Disorder, the fraction of risk that can be attributed to genes is probably around 50% or less and the remainder is made up by environmental influences. A number of possible genes have been identified and the effects of treatments are also being explored. Many exciting developments have occurred, particularly in Bipolar Disorder and now we’re moving on from examining genes that cause the illness to, perhaps, specific aspects of Bipolar Disorder itself, perhaps even, being able to predict response. Environmental and demographic factors that are important include, factors related to birth, personal background, social and family background. History of medical conditions is also important. However, there is no strong evidence for association between other demographic factors, such as gender or ethnicity, and Bipolar Disorder.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health there are four individual types of bipolar disorder: Bipolar Disorder I, Bipolar Disorder II, Cyclothymic Disorder, and Bipolar Disorder Not Otherwise Specified . My mother has Rapid-Cycling Bipolar Disorder and she has been hospitalized quite a few times for psych evaluations. “Those who experience rapid cycling can go between depression and mania as often as a few times a week (some even cycle within the same day).” (An Introduction to Bipolar Disorder). Growing up with a mother who has this disorder and a stepfather with schizophrenia its very hard to think of good memories since there was always arguments and fighting. It 's a strange

Bipolar disorder (BD) is one of the biggest causes of disability in the world (National Institute of Mental Health). Also known as manic depression, bipolar disorder is a psychological disorder that causes drastic changes in the individual’s behaviour and mood. Bipolar disorder is a mix of high, elevated moods and low, depressive ones. During elevated moods, a person will feel more energetic, impulsive or have racing thoughts. During depressive moods, the person will have feelings of loneliness, worthlessness or suicide (NIMH). Bipolar doesn’t only alter a person’s mood, but also their behaviour; a few are changes in appetite and the disability to function properly at school, work or home. People with bipolar may also

Before I truly understood Bipolar disorder, it was still a fairly common word in my vocabulary. Anytime I thought someone was being moody or fluctuating between emotions, I joked by claiming that person to be bipolar. Several incidents of this involved one of my roommates who seemed to be happy one day, and quite the polar opposite the next. However, it was not until my clinical experience on the psychiatric unit that I realized what true bipolar disorder was, and that she did not fit the criteria. Even though I always thought my roommate was bipolar, I quickly found after being exposed to a diagnosed bipolar patient that my roommate was instead just moody. I decided to write this paper on bipolar disorder, not because I have struggle with it or know a friend or family member with this disease, but because I had several misconceptions about what it entailed.

A common misconception regarding bipolar disorders is that every individual that is diagnosed experiences the same symptoms. Bipolar (and related) disorders can be similar in that they all invoke a form of lability in an individual’s mood, but the differences in frequency, duration, and intensity are unique to the individual. In order to fully understand the diagnosis of bipolar I disorder, it is important to recognize the complete spectrum. The distinct types of bipolar and related disorders are bipolar I disorder, bipolar II disorder, other specified/ unspecified bipolar and related disorder and cyclothymic disorder. The most severe form and the topic of this paper, of these types, is Bipolar I disorder. Bipolar I disorder is characterized by extreme manic episodes that may follow hypomanic and major depressive episodes (“Bipolar Disorder”, n.d. a). Bipolar II disorder is similar in nature with major depressive episodes, however, the heightened mood is due to hypomanic episodes, which are not as extreme as manic episodes (“Bipolar Disorder”, n.d. a). Other specified/unspecified bipolar and related disorder identifies when an individual has symptoms of bipolar and related disorders but does not meet the full criteria for a specific diagnosis (DSM V, 2013). Lastly, cyclothymic disorder is distinguished by noticeable alterations in an individual’s baseline mood that are not as severe as bipolar I disorder or bipolar II disorder (Morrison, 2014). Despite the differences in the