Symptoms And Treatment Of Bipolar Disorder

A pattern of primarily depressive episodes accompanied by few hypomanic episodes. Absence of mixed episodes and complete blown episodes. Tendency to commit suicide is high.

Bipolar can include varies emotional, cognitive, somatic, and behavioral symptoms that impedes the lives of people. The emotional symptoms for a person who has been diagnosed with bipolar include that the person experiences mania which, again, is an elated mood of extreme joy and the feeling of begin on top of the world ( Oltmanns & Emery ,2015) . Additionally, a person with bipolar can also swing to the other side of the emotional spectrum and experience a depressive episode. A depressive episode, as mentioned above, is characterized by extreme sadness and a feeling of hopelessness.

Depressive episodes can include, but are not limited to feelings of: emptiness, loneliness, depressed thoughts, lack of energy, and trouble concentrating (“National Institute of Mental Health”). However, symptoms from both types of episodes can mix. The individual may feel hyper but also hopeless and depressed at the same time, making it a very difficult disorder. No one certain factor is known to cause bipolar disorder. There are a few main factors which can contribute to the development of it including: genetics, family history, brain structure and function (“National Institute of Mental Health”). Often, if a parent or relation has this disorder, then a related individual has a much more likely chance of being bipolar. Tramative and extremely stressful life events can also cause the disorder to become active at any life stage (“Bipolar Disorder”). This is a diagnostic overview of the disorder, however, to have a full understanding it is vital to look at a real life account of someone with

Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness that is characterized by changes in mood. It can lead to risky behavior, damage relationships and careers, and even suicidal outcomes if it’s not treated. Bipolar disorder is more common in older teenagers and young adults, it can affect children as young as 6. Women experience more periods of depression than men. More remains to be learned about this condition that affects millions of people.

Bipolar disorder is primarily a biological disorder that occurs in a specific area of the brain and is due to the dysfunction of certain neurotransmitters, or chemical messengers, in the brain. These chemicals may involve neurotransmitters like norepinephrine, serotonin and probably many others. As a biological disorder, it may lie dormant and be activated on its own or it may be triggered by external factors such as psychological stress and social circumstances. And even though the exact cause of bipolar disorder is unknown there are a few factors that seems to be involved in causing and triggering bipolar episodes.

Those who are researching this illness believe that it had a lot to do with genetics but that there are also many other factors involved. In an example by the National Institute of Mental Health, they found that even if there is a pair of identical twins and one develops bipolar disorder the other twin might never develop it.

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)

With all of the research that has been conducted in an attempt to better understand bipolar disorder, we still have yet to pin point one specific cause of this illness. There can be a mix of many different factors that cause bipolar disorder, from genetics to stress/environmental factors, from brain structure to medications. Illnesses, like bipolar disorder, often run in families. If one person in a family has bipolar disorder, it increases the risk of developing this disease for all of their kin. Although, that does not mean that just because one of your ancestors has bipolar disorder, you are going to develop bipolar disorder. They cannot solely depend on genetics due to the facts

They include elevated mood and vegetative sign. Elevated mood symptoms include pervasive, expansive, infectious quality; overconfidence /grandiosity; sudden preoccupation with success (included are wealth, power, and fame); irritability, outburst and period feelings; pressured socialization, and spending sprees or foolish investments. Whereas vegetative signs include decreased need for sleep, appetite disturbance, and high energy including pressured speech, racing thoughts and hypersexual behavior (Mondimore, 2006).

In terms of biological dimension bipolar disorder commonly runs in families although they have been searching for specific genes such as building blocks of DNA inside all the cells and it may upturn a person’s chance of developing illness. (Lau & Eley, 2010) detailed relatives that have mood disorder might incline the chances of having the same mood effects. It also means that these influences how the body and mind work and grow possibly passed down through generations and create a higher potential in developing Bipolar disorders. (NIMH Genetics Workgroup, 1992) studies of identical twins mentioned that if one twin has bipolar disorder, then the other twin is more likely to develop the illness than another sibling. The brain structure and functioning also plays a role in the causes of bipolar disorder. According to Davidson (1993) verified that depressed individuals has a bigger right sided anterior activation of their brains especially in the prefrontal cortex than no depressed individual. This shows that individuals that have a higher depression may fall into mania episodes because of the acute change in mood and energy. In a psychological way Bipolar disorder may arise from stressful life events. A number of issues like a negative stressful events such as striving to achieve important goals in life trigger mania in a weak individuals. Goodwin & Jamison (2007) claimed that some

Causes of bipolar disorder are not clearly defined. There are possible genetic connections to the disorder. Probable occurrence of and excessive calcium buildup in the cells and also dopamine and other neurochemical transmitter seemed to be implicated in bipolar disorder.

Where and how bipolar disorder is caused is still a bit of a mystery. Some information is known but nothing concrete, and a lot of dead ends. Genetic predisposition is one possible cause for bipolar disorder. The disease usually can be seen throughout a family tree of an affected individual. Twin studies have been conducted to see if there is a higher chance of identical twins, who have the same genetic make up, both getting the disease. These have shown that there is an increased likely hood of one twin to have bipolar disorder if the other has it, but it is not a certainty. The gene for bipolarity has mainly been traced to chromosome 18 as well as some others. It is uncertain which is responsible because it has been found in some cases that chromosome 18 is unaffected in bipolar patients. It is most likely that bipolar disorder is linked

Bipolar Disorder also known as Manic Depressive Illness involves outstanding mood swings. The individual has periods of depression, and periods when they feel either unusually good or pressured and irritable. It affects 1-2% of the population. Genetics plays a significant role. About 15% of children with one bipolar parent develop the disorder.

Sloan Manning, MD, 2015). Even though it is not known what really causes someone to become bipolar, there are other life style choices and activities that can have an impact on someone being bipolar or not. There are many other conditions that can be associated with bipolar disorder. To help manage one condition the other has to be managed as well.