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Bipolar Disorder And Its Effects On The Human Mind

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Bipolar Disorder is a mental illness that has many effects on the human body and mind. It’s found in young adults and children as well. Statistics show that the disorder affects about four million people in the United States and is becoming one of the most common disabilities in the United States today. People with bipolar disorder undergo two types of mood swings: depression and mania. Those two are then divided into subcategories: Bipolar 1 Disorder, Bipolar 2 Disorder, and Cylothymia. This paper will discuss bipolar disorder, the subtypes and the symptoms, as well as causes and treatments. Bipolar Disorder, also known as manic depression, is a mental illness that has a great effect on the human mind. During this disorder, the mind …show more content…

Bipolar disorder is most commonly found in adults, but it usually starts during the childhood and adolescent years. Historical data with youth suggest that the overall prevalence of bipolar disorders in children is approximately 1% of the population, a rate similar to that in adulthood and lower than most other childhood mental illnesses (Apps J, Winkler J, & Jandrisevits MD, 2008). Strober et al said that 54 adolescents with bipolar I disorder over a period of 5 years and reported a high rate of recovery (96%) from the index episodes, and a moderate rate of relapse (44%) (Birmaher, 2013). In the Indian study 30 bipolar subjects with onset in childhood and adolescence were assessed systematically at baseline and 4-5 years later (Birmaher, 2013). Adolescents with bipolar disorder are at increased risk for completed suicides. Strober et al. reported medically significant suicide attempts in 20% of their adolescent sample (Birmaher, 2013). It is very important that as parent you watch out for you child anytime that they show signs of having a bipolar disorder. Signs or symptoms could include weight loss, changes in the appetite, changes in sleeping pattern, feeling worthless hopeless, poor concentration, and guilt. It is inherent to the definition of Bipolar I Disorder that a person experience mania, regardless of any history of depressed mood (Apps J, Winkler J, & Jandrisevits MD, 2008). Individuals with

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