Introduction
When looking at the topic of bipolar disorder, it is imperative to know exactly what the disorder is all about. This is done by one asking themselves what is bipolar disorder? Bipolar disorder is defined as a mental disease that causes a person to have unusual behaviors such as shifts of moods, lack of energy and the inability to carry out the normal day activities (Mitchell, 2004). The disorder is also stated to be called as the manic depression. It has been said that the symptoms of the disorder are very severe and therefore, one needs the assistance of a physician. The common treatment for this disorder is medication and psychotherapy.
Causes
Many scientists in the world are trying to find the causes of the disorder. According to most of their findings, it can be able to observe that most of them agree that there is no single cause of the disorder. This fact means that there is a combination of many factors that might bring about the condition. Some of the causes that can be observed are genetics, environmental, physiological and neurological.
Genetics
It has been noted that the disorder tends to run in the family. Researchers have shown that some certain people have genes that cause them to get the disorder. Therefore, some of the children whose parents or siblings have the disorder are more than likely to get the disorder compared to other children whose family members do not have the disorder. Nevertheless, there have been many reports where some children whose family members have the disorder do not get it. The first findings of the genetic linkage can be observed from research that was conducted in 1969 (Mitchell, 2004). This fact prompted many researchers to look into the matter.
Environmental
There have been some findings that have indicated that the environment has contributed to the development of the disorder. The reason for this is because a person’s psychosocial variables are stated to interact with the genetic disposition. Some evidence has proven that a person’s relationships and any life changing life events would contribute to them to get the disorder where they would have mood changes and depressions. Childhood abuse or traumatic experience are stated to be one of the reasons why adults are able to get the disorder (Peacock, 2000).
Physiological
Some researchers have shown that there are abnormalities in the structure and the function of the brain that could bring about the disorder. The MRI tests conducted on individuals with the disorder have shown that the there is an increase of the globus pallidus and the lateral ventricles. According to the MRI findings, it indicates that the abnormal modulation of the limbic regions and the ventral prefrontal region such as the amygdala will cause a person’s emotional irregularities and moods (Mondimore, 2014). Some other MRI studies have shown that the brains of the people with the disorder have different brains compared to those of normal healthy people. An example of this case was conducted with children with the disorder and those without the disorder. The MRI showed that the children with the disorder had similar brain patterns to those of multi-dimensional impairment.
Signs and Symptoms
Mood episodes
It has been observed that people with this disorder usually experience unusual emotional episodes. This is because with this events people will experience drastic mood changes in a manner that are different from their usual selves (Peacock, 2000). The people could become overly joyful and excited. While at other times their moods changes and they become angry, sad and aggressive. When they become overly sad, then it is stated that they are in a depression. A person who has mood episodes tend to get irritable easily and become explosive in that they could get violent.
Manic episodes
Most people with bipolar disorder tend to have manic episodes. The manic episodes bring about the mood episodes where one day they are euphoric and the next day they are extremely sad. Manic episodes cause’s people to talk at a rapid speed, can become distracted easily, become concentrated on achieving some goals, become easily agitated, and spend money excessively. Others would claim that they have racing thoughts and ideas. Other symptoms of manic episodes are that they become hypersexual and start doing high-risk behaviors. All these symptoms affect a person’s ability to work or socialize with others. It is claimed that the manic episodes may last for three to six months (Goodwin, 2007).
There are other severe symptoms of the manic episodes such as insomnia, psychosis, and impaired judgment. The impairment of judgment is what causes the individuals with the disorder to start using drugs and alcohol. Psychosis will cause the individuals to lose touch with reality. They may begin to hallucinate or become delusional. According to research, it shows that nearly fifty percent of all cases of people with the disorder have experienced psychosis episodes.
Depression
The typical signs and symptoms of depression are anxiety, anger, indifference, self-loathing, sadness, irritability, hopelessness, fatigue, lack of appetite, suicidal thoughts, insomnia and lack of concentration in work or school. There are other severe cases of depression where the individual becomes psychotic. The person will experience delusions. Most of the signs and symptoms of the disorder affect a person’s ability to socialize and work with other people even their family members and friends (Goodwin, 2007). Most of the people with bipolar depression usually push people away. The problem with the signs of bipolar depression is that it is often mistaken to be major depression.
Hypomanic episodes
The hypomania episodes are stated to be milder if compared to the manic episodes. The reason for this is because the individual does not show any signs of psychosis and most of the times the episodes do not interfere with their work or social life. Therefore, patients with this disorder are usually not required to use the psychiatric treatment. The symptoms of the disorder are that the people tend to be irritable easily or have poor judgment (Goodwin, 2007). There are other cases where the individual will increase creativity at work and school. It has been stated that a person with the episodes will experience good feelings in that they will not be able to recognize any changes in them even when they are told by others. Therefore, it can be claimed that the episodes are not dangerous unless they become uncontrollable. The episodes last for a few months.
Diagnosis
The fact that bipolar disorder contains symptoms of depression it is, therefore, mistaken to be depression. Hence, many people with the disorder go untreated. Most of the people who are diagnosed with the disorder are those in their early adulthood and adolescents. Several factors are looked at when diagnosing someone with the disorder. First and foremost important factor is that any person showing signs and symptoms of the disorder should be taken to the hospital to be diagnosed and treated (Bobo, 2015, p70). The doctors follow the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DMV) in order to check and diagnose a patient. The doctor would first do the physical examination on the patient. This is done to root out the cause of the symptoms. Mood charting would be done to check how often a person’s moods changes. Then in order for the doctor to be able to make the right diagnosis they will check the patient’s signs and symptoms and compare them with that of the DMV.
Treatment
Medication
There are different types of drugs that are used to medicate the symptoms of the disorder. It has been observed that not all the people who are prescribed the medications work in the same manner. The most common medication are the mood stabilizers. In looking at the symptoms of bipolar disorder, mood episodes is the major problem that brings about other symptoms. Examples of the mood stabilizers are Lithium, dialporex sodium, lomatrigine, and carbamazepine (Mitchell, 2004). The stabilizers are vital when it comes to controlling the maniac episodes.
The antidepressant medication is also provided to the patients. The main purpose of the medicine is to manage the depression of a person. It is also crucial for the medication to be accompanied by the antipsychotic medication since there have been reports of the drugs causing maniac episodes.
Antipsychotic medication is prescribed to the patients in order to control psychotic episodes. Most people with the disorder can be observed to have manic episodes where they hallucinate or have delusions. Some of the commonly used drugs are Ziprasidone, Olanzapine, Lurasidone, Quetiapine, Asenapine and Risperidone (Mitchell, 2004).
There have also been some cases where the patients are given antianxiety medication. The reason for this is because most of the patients with the severe bipolar disorder have sleeping and anxiety problems that cause them to have angry outbursts. A good example of medication given is Benzodiazepines (Bobo, 2015, p.72). These drugs help manage anxiety and help improve the sleep of the patient.
Psychotherapy
Research shows that medication alone does not sufficiently help the patient; therefore, they require psychological assistance. Psychotherapy is provided for group, family or individually. The most commonly used method of psychotherapy is the cognitive behavioral therapy. According to most research, it shows that this form of therapy has proven to be very effective (Mondimore, 2014). The primary focus of the treatment is to concentrate on people's behaviors that seem to be unhealthy such as negative thoughts. The therapist will make the patient be able to realize the negative thoughts they have and replace them with positive thoughts. During the therapy session, the counselor would be able to find the triggers of the disorder. The patient will be taught on finding effective ways of controlling their stress.
Group therapies should be highly recommended. This is because during the group therapies people with bipolar disorder will be able to get an opportunity to discuss their problems with people of the similar situation. They will get a platform to air out all their grievances and get strength from other people.
Psycho-education helps to educate people about the disorder and how to manage it. Family members and friends of a person with the disorder should participate in the program. Many people in the world do not understand what the disorder entails or the signs and symptoms of the disorder (Mondimore, 2014). Therefore, people need to be education on everything that is related to the disorder and also ways for the family and friends to cope with a person with the disorder. It is a fact that persons with the disease tend to have mood episodes, which affects family members and friends directly. Therefore, by being education about the disorder, they will be able to understand what causes a person to behave in the manner they do.
In conclusion, bipolar disorder is a mental problem that affects a person’s behaviors and moods. There are many cases where the patient is found to have psychotic episodes. The major signs of the disorder are maniac episodes, mood episodes, and depression. According to research, the best mode of treatment for this disease is through medication and psychotherapy.
Reference
Bobo, W. V. (2015). Complexity of Illness and Adjunctive Benzodiazepine Use in Outpatients With Bipolar I or II Disorder: Results From the Bipolar CHOICE Study. Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, 68-74.
Goodwin, F. K. (2007). Manic–depressive illness: bipolar disorders and recurrent depression. Oxford University Press.
Mitchell, P. B. (2004). Major advances in bipolar disorder. Medical Journal of Australia .
Mondimore, F. M. (2014). Bipolar Disorder: A Guide for Patients and Families. JHU Press.
Peacock, J. (2000). Bipolar Disorder. Capstone.
