Understanding Bipolar Disorder in Children

For those of us that are parents, we know that raising a child to adulthood is not an easy task but one which we do lovingly (hopefully) and responsibly. I’ll go out on a limb to say here that everyone agrees that the teenage years are the most challenging. The general consensus is that teenagers are unruly, aggressive, careless, spoiled and dependent on technology. On the other hand, I believe along with a small group of other parents that teenagers are also brilliant and in the process of becoming and reaching their potential and that they deserve much more respect than what they are given.

Manic depression disorder, more commonly known today as bipolar disorder, is a mental illness that can affect any age, race, or gender. It is not prejudiced, and has a grim prognosis if the symptoms are not treated or controlled in some fashion. Bipolar disorder is, by Boris Birmaher as the presence of recurrent episodes of mania or hypomania with and without episodes of depression (Birmaher, 2013). As explained by Hockenbury and Hockenbury, a manic episode can be sudden and escalates the emotional state of the individual causing them to have extreme euphoria, as well as more excitement, physical energy, and a more rapid thought and speech process. A depressive episode can also come on suddenly and leaves the individual in a lost state, where they are tired, and no longer find enjoyment from activities that they once loved and could lead to suicidal thoughts or actions (Hockenbury & Hockenbury, 2014). A person does not mentally mature fully until about the age of 25. Meaning that a 25 year old has different brain processes than a 10 year old. Because of this, there have been many studies conducted on the controversy between whether or not bipolar disorder should be diagnosed in children and adolescents.

Mental illness has plagued human kind for as long as we have been on this earth. The science of psychology has made great strides in past century. The stigma of being mentally ill has begun to fall away and people are finally starting to get the help that they need to recover. Bipolar disorder is one illness that we have come to more fully understand. Through assistance from a psychiatrist, family and medication a patient with bipolar disorder can enter remission and live a normal life.

Bipolar Disorder-Children and adolescents who demonstrate exaggerated mood swings that range from extreme highs (excited or manic phases) to extreme lows (depression) may have bipolar disorder.

Katie often felt sad. She would skipped school or stayed in bed quite often. At other times, she felt really happy. She talked fast and felt like she could do anything. Katie suffers from Bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder or manic-depressive illness is a brain disorder that can affect one’s mood and ability to complete tasks. Bipolar disorder in children is under studied for many reasons. These include, lack of awareness and the difference in the disease seen in adults and children that can make it difficult to continue studies. Bipolar disorder has not been well studied despite harmful effects on growth and development in a child.

Living with a child with bipolar disorder can be difficult. Though it is important to be patient and understanding, dealing with a child’s extreme shifts in mood and behavior can cause a lot of stress on a parent and may cause strain on the parent’s other relationships, mental and physical health, jobs, other children of the family, and the child’s treatment plan. It is important that the parent cares for himself and not solely be concerned of the child, as both the parent and child

My bipolar started out as a crippling depression, causing me to lose enjoyment in life, begin to self-harm, and have thoughts of suicide. This was a dark time for me, and since I was young, I did not quite understand what was going on and had no

For an episode to be categorized as manic, the patients’ mood has been irritable or abnormally elevated for at least 1 week. A person must also exhibit at least 3 of the following symptoms (4 if the mood is only irritable): extreme feelings of personal greatness; a decreased need for sleep, marked talkativeness; distractibility; extreme focus on a goal-directed activity; reports of ‘racing’ thoughts or a flight of ideas; or excessive involvement in pleasurable activities that have a high potential for painful consequences (i.e. sexual indiscretions or unintelligent business investments). As in the criteria for a depressed episode, the DSM-IV specifies that these symptoms should not be better explained as being a side effect of a drug or illness to qualify as a manic episode. These symptoms must interfere with the person’s normal functioning and must not meet the criteria for a mixed episode. As with adults, childhood-onset bipolar disorder has many faces. Children with Bipolar I Disorder have episodes of mania and episodes of depression, sometimes there are long periods of normal moods between episodes. Adults usually tend to have more depressed episodes than manic episodes. However, some children will have chronic mania (symptoms of mania lasting for long periods of time or marked by frequent recurrence) and seldom experience a depressed episode.

Pavuluri, M. (2008). What works for bipolar kids: Help and hope for parents (Kindle ed.). New York, New York: Guilford Press.

Those who are diagnosed, or are looking for a diagnosis because they believe something may be wrong, with bipolar disorder work very closely psychiatrists. Psychiatrists are able to diagnose as well as help to treat patients who have already been told they are bipolar. It is important that a person works with the same psychiatrist because they will learn more

In life people go through experiences that cause their moods to change for the better or for the worse. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the operational definition of bipolar disorder, identify the additional specifiers, comorbidity, prevalence and discuss the cost of treating the disorder. Also, a detailed explanation will be provided about the population most impacted by the selected disorder and evidence-based approaches to assessing the disorder will be presented. In addition, evidence-based treatment approaches to address the disorder will be displayed. Last, a summary will be shared by relating an intervention from the evidence-based treatment approach to each of the themes of School of Social Work Advocacy, Empowerment and transformation.

The onset of bipolar disorder is usually in late adolescence or early adulthood (7). It is possible for both children and adolescents to develop the disease as well. This usually happens when there is a family history for the disease. Children afflicted by bipolar disorder are usually more irritable and destructive during their manic states and are more prone to mixed states (9). It is even harder to diagnose bipolar disorder in children because it is often confused with other problems that occur at a younger age such as attention deficit disorder, conduct disorder, major depression, or schizophrenia (9).

Many physicians tend to think of depression as an illness of adulthood. In fact, Brown (1996) stated that "it was only in the 1980 's that mood disorders in children were included in the category of diagnosed psychiatric illnesses." In actuality, 7-14% of children will experience an episode of major depression before the age of 15. An average of 20-30% of adult bipolar patients report having their first episode before the age of 20. In a sampling of 100,000 adolescents, two to three thousand will have mood disorders out of which 8-10 will commit suicide (Brown, 1996). Blackman (1995) remarked that the suicide rate for adolescents has increased more than 200% over the last decade.