Defining Bipolar Disorder
An Overview of the Psychological Illness
Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness that can have debilitating effects on normal life, not only with the person who has the illness but also with family and friends. According to the Archives of General Psychiatry (June 2005), 5.7 million adults in the United States suffer from this psychological disorder in any given year.
Misdiagnosis is very common in patients with bipolar disorder because it occurs on a continuum and there are many other forms of the disorder which can be mistaken for depression. It may also be misdiagnosed because symptoms don't meet the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) criteria and/or people may not seek treatment.
Types of Bipolar Disorder
There are two main types of bipolar disorder. Bipolar I disorder means a person has had at least one manic episode with or without previous episodes of depression. Bipolar II disorder means the person has had at least one episode of depression and at least one hypomanic (similar to a manic episode but not as severe, with a lack of disruption to daily routine) episode.
A mild form of bipolar disorder is cyclothymia. It includes mood swings but they are not as severe as bipolar disorder.
Some people with bipolar disorder also may experience rapid cycling bipolar disorder. It is the occurrence of four or more mood swings in one year. Psychosis (hallucinations and delusions) may also appear in severe episodes of either mania or depression.
Bipolar Disorder Symptoms
Alternating between emotional highs (mania) and lows (depression) is the main characteristic of bipolar disorder. There may be times when a person's life doesn't seem to be affected at all. The symptoms in mania are different from those in depression. For mania the symptoms are:
- euphoria
- extreme optimism
- inflated self-esteem
- poor judgment
- rapid speech
- racing thoughts
- aggressive behavior
- agitation
- increased exercise
- risky behavior
- spending sprees
- increased sexual drive
- decreased need for sleep
- becoming easily distracted
- unable to concentrate
- drug abuse
In the depressive phase the symptoms of bipolar disorder include:
- sadness
- hopelessness
- suicidal thoughts/behavior
- anxiety
- guilt
- sleeping problems
- appetite problems
- fatigue
- loss of interest
- problems concentrating
- irritability
- chronic pain with no known cause
Risk Factors for Bipolar I and Bipolar II
Bipolar I disorder affects about the same number of men as women, but bipolar II disorder is more prevalent in women. The disorder usually starts between the ages of 15 and 30 with the median onset at age 25. People who may be at risk for developing this disorder include those who have a biological family member with the disorder, have periods of high stress, abuse drugs and have experienced a major life change such as a divorce or loss of a loved one.
Causes of Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar is an evolving, lifetime-long disorder and affect a person differently at different times in his/her life. An exact cause of bipolar disorder is not known but there are factors that seem to be involved with causing and triggering episodes.
One cause of bipolar disorder is biochemical. It's believed that neurotransmitters in the brain and hormonal imbalances may play a role.
Another cause of bipolar disorder is hereditary. Psychologists believe that a person with a family member who has this illness is more susceptible to develop it as well.
It's believed that a person's environment can also play a role in causing bipolar disorder. Depending upon an environment, for instance, one twin may have bipolar disorder where the other doesn't because s/he had a different environment thus showing genes are not solely responsible for causing the disorder.
This is just a broad spectrum of how bipolar disorder looks and acts. If a person thinks s/he has bipolar disorder, it's essential that this person visits a psychiatrist to get a proper diagnosis. If a person has already been diagnosed with this psychological disorder, check out this article on treatment of bipolar disorder to better understand how treatment works and what can go wrong when treating psychological disorders like bipolar disorder.
Source:
Bipolar Two Extremes
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