Symptoms And Treatment Of Bipolar II

Bipolar disorder is a costly and disabling disease. Patients with bipolar disorder may be misdiagnosed with another illness in their initial presentation. Major challenges to accurate diagnosis include difficulties in differentiating bipolar depression from unipolar depression. Significant heterogeneity between different patients of bipolar disorder, such that they would report different

The two major types of Bipolar Disorder (BPD) set out in this paper are Bipolar 1 and 2. Bipolar 1 is diagnosed as guide lined by the DSM5. As the occurrence of a least one maniac episode preceding or post an episode of hypomania and/or Major depression. The DSM 5 highlights that Bipolar 2 is diagnosed by one major depressive episode in occurrence with one hypomanic episode with an absence of Mania. (Association:, 2013) Mania as defined by DSM5: “A distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood and abnormally and persistently increased goal-directed activity or energy, lasting at least 1 week and present most of the day, nearly every day.” Hypomania being: “A distinct period of abnormally and

Psychiatric mood disorders of such as Bipolar are often complex to diagnosis. Bipolar I is differentiated from Bipolar II by a history of at least one manic episode in a person’s life, with Bipolar II being diagnosed and characterized by a history of major depression with at least one episode of hypomania (Sadock, Sadock, and Ruiz, 2015). Bipolar is often misdiagnosed as major depression, especially in the presence of a dual diagnosis of substance use disorders. Individuals with Bipolar often have a history of self-medicating their mood symptoms of mania and

Bipolar disorder is a rollercoaster no one wants to ride, it’s a constant up and down loop until you stabilize, coasting the ride back in. Many studies and research has been performed to understand how this disorder works. Articles “Bipolar 1 Disorder and Bipolar 2 Disorder: What Are the Differences?” by James Roland, and “Differences Between Bipolar I and Bipolar II Disorders in Clinical Features, Comorbidity, and Family History” by Ji Hyun Bark et al, are great articles informing the reader of what bipolar disorder is and the difference between bipolar one and bipolar two. Knowing the difference between bipolar one and two is very important for the patient to understand as well as their family and

Bipolar and Related Disorders are separated from the depressive disorders in the DSM-5. (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) They are placed between the chapters on schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders and depressive disorders. This is because they are a bridge between the two diagnostic classes in terms of symptomatology, family history, and genetics. The disorders that fall under this category are as follows: Bipolar I, Bipolar II, Cyclothymic Disorder, Substance / Medication-Induced Bipolar and related, Bipolar and related due to another Medical Condition, Other Specified Bipolar and related, and Unspecified Bipolar and related.

Bipolar disorder has had a large history full of misunderstandings, wrongful treatments and stigma surrounding the illness. Bipolar, formerly called manic depression causes extreme mood swings that include emotional highs (mania) and lows (depression). (Mayo 1998) When you become depressed you may feel sad, vulnerable and anxious. When you experience mania you will become overly joyful or full of energy, making the crash back to depression that much harder.

In J. Sloan Manning, MD’s article there is a graph from 2 studies that were done in 2014. The graph is showing how people living with bipolar I and bipolar II have other such conditions that they are struggling with. It is important to get this disorder treated as soon as possible, to lessen the chances of developing another unwanted disorder. Consequently, choice of clinical treatment still occurs largely on the basis of reducing target symptoms (psychosis, depression, mania/hypomania and anxiety), resulting often in use of multiple medical or psychological therapies (Hickie, 2014). To avoid making this diagnosis worse, it is better to get the current symptoms under control as soon as possible.

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) bipolar disorder is divided into several more specific categories. Bipolar I Disorder, is categorized by mixed episodes of mania that can last anywhere between seven days to two weeks. Bipolar II Disorder is defined by depressive and hypomanic episodes, although they are not mixed or exaggerated. Bipolar Disorder NOS, is when the symptoms of bipolarity are clearly present in a patient and they alter his/her normal behavior, yet it does not quite fit in the criteria of either Bipolar II or I. Cyclothymic Disorder, another form of bipolarity, is a very mild form of the disorder yet the patient’s manic or depressive episodes do

In an article produced by Brown University (Psychopharmacology, 1998), at least two million Americans, or between 1 to 2 percent of the population, suffer from bipolar disorder. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Virginia Woolf, and Vincent Van Gogh are just a few famous examples known to have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder (Bhatia, 2014). According to Nick Craddock (1999) of The Journal of Medical Genetics, “bipolar disorder, also known as manic depressive illness, is a complex genetic disorder in which the core feature is pathological disturbance in mood ranging from extreme elation, or mania, to severe depression usually accompanied by disturbances in thinking and behavior.” These episodes can take an extreme toll on family structures, as well as simple everyday activities for the patient. There have been many research studies done to find what exactly causes bipolar disorder, though no conclusive answer has been found. Although a cause has not been discovered, researchers have come upon many correlations between those diagnosed and the disorder. These correlations include, heritability, alcohol and other drug abuse, and leadership positions (Edvardsen et al, 2008; Carmiol et al, 2014; Kyaga et. al, 2015). In the following paper, the roles that these correlations play in bipolar disorder will be further investigated. It is hypothesized that those with bipolar disorder more often than not have someone in their family that also has the disorder and that they will most likely

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.

Now I can see that these were signs I was starting my first depressive episode. I was eighteen and a bit ahead of the curve in terms of onset for both depression and bipolar II disorder. However, I always did like to be early for things so I guess shouldn’t be surprised. Apparently, early onset of symptoms means a poorer prognosis for treatment, but I try to ignore that fun little tidbit of information. Another fun fact, people born in the winter are apparently more likely to develop either bipolar I or bipolar II. A link had also been found between the seasons and what times of the year depression episodes occur for individuals with a bipolar disorder. No one seems to know why. That seemed to be something that comes up again and again, even with all the research, that no one really knows why the brain works the way it does with most mental illnesses. Even when they have tangible, visible differences in brain structures they aren’t sure what’s going on. One article I read found that the prefrontal cortex size was larger in individuals with bipolar disorder who had a suicide history without psychiatric hospitalization, but smaller in individuals with a suicide attempt history who had past hospitalizations. The authors went on to explain why this might be, more severe cases or the type of treatment, but they weren’t sure if that was actually the case. It doesn’t make you have a lot of hope for recovery when scientists aren’t sure what your brain is doing.