The Etiology Of The Disorder Essay

“Bipolar disorder, also commonly known as manic depression, is defined as a serious mental illness in which common emotions become intensely and often unpredictably magnified. Individuals with bipolar disorder can quickly alternate from extremes of happiness, energy and clarity to sadness, fatigue and confusion. All people with bipolar disorder have manic episodes abnormally elevated or irritable moods that last at least a week and impair functioning. But not all become depressed ” (American Psychological Association, 2015). Bipolar disorder can vary in each individual. The symptoms fluctuate in pattern, severity and rate of recurrence. Some people are more susceptible to either mania or depression, while others change proportionately between the two types of episodes. Some have frequent mood disruptions, while others live through a few throughout their lifetime.

The prevalence of Bipolar disorder is around 4% within the United States, with only 1.0% of that being Bipolar I disorder. “Not a lot of research has been done, to determine which race is more prevalent for this disorder” (NIMH.org 2015). People of lower socioeconomic status have been linked to have higher rates of Bipolar I disorder. “Bipolar I disorder is more common among women than men, with a ratio of ~3:2 (CDC.org 2015). Bipolar I disorder typically develops in a person’s late teen or early adulthood with an average onset age of 25 years old.

Read each case below and determine what psychological disorder each patient might have. In your own words, state your reasons why. Type your answer directly below each case.

Bipolar disorder also known as manic depression has always been a mystery since the 16th century. History has shown that it can appear in almost everyone. Bipolar disorder causes mood swings in energy, thinking, and other behavior. Having a bipolar disorder can be very disabling (Kapczinski). A study was evaluated and about 1.3% of the U.S population of people suffers from bipolar disorder. Stressors and environmental influences can trigger and cause a person to go through numerous episodes. Bipolar disorder is characterized according to the severity of the stages. According to Kapczinski, there are four different stages that a person with bipolar disorder can experience. The prognosis of a disorder is different in each particular patient

Millions of men, women, and children are diagnosed with bipolar disorder each year in America. Women of all ethnicities are found to have a greater chance of experiencing symptoms of depression then men. And it is more likely to develop in Caucasian-Americans, but more likely reach severity in African-Americans. After diagnosis, generally a combination of mood stabilizing medication and psychotherapy are prescribed to counter the chronic symptoms. Many people with bipolar disorder do not receive the proper diagnosis or treatment after diagnosis. Without treatment the disorder is likely to worsen, causing severely depressive episodes or death. More than half of African-Americans

Bipolar disorder affects nearly 5.7 million adults each year, which is about 2.6% of the United States population (Doheny, 2015). Bipolar tends to occur in people during adolescence and early adulthood. There are four different types of bipolar disorder. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the four different types of bipolar are bipolar I disorder, bipolar II disorder, bipolar disorder not otherwise specified, and lastly cyclothymic disorder (National Institute of Mental Health, 2016). The DSM-5 goes in detail describing each of the different types of bipolar disorders. The recurrence of bipolar can lead to substance abuse, bad job performance, poor school performance, attempted suicide, family and relationship problems, as well as subsyndromal symptoms between the varies episodes that tend to occur (Lam, 2010). There are a severity of problems that people with bipolar can face, but bipolar is treatable. Bipolar is often stabilized by medication (Lam, 2010).

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

The two mood swings they often experience are depression and mania, which can often last to a few weeks or even months. Bipolar disorder has two different types; the first type is called Bipolar 1, they experience two mood swings that are depression and mania, the second type is called Bipolar 2 is much more mild than the first type but it ultimately involves hypomania with episodes of depression such as the first, just more mild. Some symptoms of mania include impulsive behavior, jumpiness, poor judgment, and agitation. Some symptoms of depression include hopelessness, poor appetite, extreme sadness, withdrawal from friends, and a loss of interests in social activities. Bipolar Disorder is most common in China, India, and then the United States. It drastically affects about 12 to 15 million people in India and China, and 2.2 million people in the United States according to pendulum.org. Although China and India have the two highest rates of bipolar disorder, we will be mostly be focusing on and discussing how bipolar disorder affects the people in the United States. According to bipolar-lives.com, “Bipolar disorder affects approximately 5.7 million adult Americans, or about 2.6% of the U.S. population age 18 and older every year.” That drastically affects many young adults every single year, ranging from 18-25 year old adults but, it is also a disorder that can develop in young children as

Bipolar I disorder is a disorder in which individuals shift between major depression and mania (Comer, 2014). This disorder is seen more in people with low incomes (Comer, 2014). The onset of this disorder is between 15 and 44 years of age (Comer, 2014). A person’s manic and depressive episodes may subside, but they typically recur at another time during the person’s life (McClure). During the manic state of a person’s bipolar disorder, individuals tend to be filled with optimism, are very energetic, active, and typically get a little sleep (Comer, 2014). Furthermore, these individuals are very motivated and seek out constant companionship, involvement, and excitement (Comer, 2014). However, people with bipolar I disorder shift into major depression (Comer, 2014). The depressive state usually is more experienced than mania (Comer, 2014). During this state, individuals experience the lows of

Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a recurrent mental illness first described by Jules Farlet in 1854 as Folie Circulaire (circular insanity) (Ghouse, Sanches, Zunta-Soares, Swann & Soares, 2013). BD is known to affect ones mood, from feeling depressed to manic episodes, such as feeling very high and overactive. BD usually occurs in young adulthood (average age of 25 years) and is relatively equal in men and women, and causes serious problems throughout life,- with a lifetime prevalence of 0.2-1.2% (James & Chapman, 1975; Weissman & Myers, 1978). Affecting about 1.5% of the U.S population (Hyman, 2000) and between 0.5% and 3.5% of the world population (Kleinman et