Section One:
Background Information
Bipolar disorder, which is also known as the Manic-depressive illness. It is a disorder in the brain that triggers unusual changes in mood, activity levels, energy. It as well hinders the ability for a person to go about with their daily tasks. Bipolar has very severe side effects if it was not discovered in time. It may lead to poor relationships with other people, poor work relations with colleagues, poor performance in the workplace or at school and can lead to the victim committing suicide. The bipolar disorder can, however, be treated, and the people with the disease can lead a full regular that has no any difference from ordinary human beings. The disease tends to run in the lineage of the family through the genes. Some genes are likely to develop the disease over others, and this is passed to their offspring’s (National Institute of Mental Health, 2014).
Presenting problem
The research is in bipolar and the effects it has on its victims. It will also cover certain parts in looking at how bipolar was transmitted, diagnosed and the intervention that can be done so that the issue can be addressed appropriately. The signs and symptoms which are not known to many people will be discussed. Early intervention of the disease provides the victim with enough time to evaluate the condition and have excellent chances of recovering. If this was not done and they do not realize that they have the disorder then it becomes fatal and might lead to death. The paper will, therefore, cover all the theories of the disease and how the problem can be solved. It will present the issues that the bipolar patients are facing. The disorder is curable and yet leads to deaths of many people annually and therefore the need for research on the disease to determine the reasons to why it has been ignored.
History of the presenting problem
Dating back from the ancient Greece, Areatus of Cappadocia began the research on the disorder that detailed the symptoms as early as the 1st century. People did not understand his notations for centuries. The notes mainly distinguished mania and depression. The Greeks were the ones responsible for the terms "mania and Melancholia". They have been enhanced and researched and in modern day they are known as "Mania and Depression". The philosopher acknowledged the disorder that is in the present known as the Bipolar disorder. People in early days were executed as there was no treatment for the disease. As humans however researched and found a treatment the execution became minimal until it was stopped. The first treatment included putting salt in a bath that calmed the people who had mania and depression. Studies were further done and have in modern days been reduced to tablets and other modes of treatment.
In the transmission, Bipolar disorder is hereditary in nature and is mostly passed through the genes. Not all offspring’s will necessary have the disorder if the parents have a problem. They however are subjected of high chances of contracting it from their parents. Both genders are equally affected by the disorder meaning that. There was no gender that acted as a carrier or is immune to the disorder. Some genes are, however, immune to the disease and cannot contract the disease. Children whose family has had the bipolar disorder are likely to contract the disease even if the parents do not have the disease. Children whose family has not had any history of the illness will not contract it. A big number of the offspring does not contract the disease even if the family has had the bipolar disorder in their history. Only a small number of the off-springs will contract the disease (Sklar et al, 2011).
Although passed to the immediate offspring, it does not mean that all the quick off springs of the victim will get the disease. All the off-springs might not have the disorder but then they can pass the genes to their off springs. The trend goes on this way, and a number of off-springs do not get the disorder while others are vulnerable as well as their off-springs. An example is in twins in which one of them might get the disorder while the other does not. Scientists are yet this situation, but it is believed that apart from the genes there are other factors that were involved. Some of the most projected factors are environmental factors. It has not yet been proven, but studies aimed at the environment plays any role in this. That had been the history of transmission of the disease.
Section Two:
The bipolar disorder is diagnosed by doctors through the guidelines that were found in the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)". For a person to be diagnosed, and then they must have the symptoms that prove that they might have the disorder. The signs and symptoms of the disease are; experiencing intense emotional states which might occur in distinct periods. These stages were known as the "mood episodes". Each chapter changes the normal behavior that a person has their mood especially. When a person is overly excited then, the state could be called the maniac episode while if they are sad and fell hopeless they are said to be in the depressive episode. It might at times have both events occurring at the same time. That period was known as the missed state. Extreme changes in a person's energy, sleep, activity and behavior all go along with the changes that occur in these episodes.
Persons with the disorder at times dwell with what they are hallucinating about. An example is when a person is hallucinating being a generous person with a lot of money; they tend to act in the same manner in the real life. If they hallucinate that they have no money and have committed a crime, they express this in real life. That made the people that have the disorder to be diagnosed as patients that have schizophrenia if a mistake is made. The two are very different, and if they misdiagnosed and treated wrongly then the situation might be even more severe. They might also abuse alcohol and other drugs. The symptoms of the disorder are very careful to note and require a professional to examine them. If they have these symptoms then, they are likely to have the disorder as well as have the schizophrenia. It takes a professional to distinguish between the two (Chen, Suckling, Lennox & Bullmore, 2011).
There are four types of bipolar that the doctors must identify before they can begin treatment on the patients. They are namely: Bipolar I Disorder, Bipolar II Disorder, Bipolar Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (BP-NOS) and Cyclothymic Disorder, or Cyclothymia. A physical examination was then carried out which is then followed by an interview and lab tests. The disorder cannot be identified in the blood or through brain scans. The tests are, however, used to rule out other factors that might be affecting the mood of the person. Some of these conditions might be a stroke, thyroid or brain tumor conditions. If they are not found then a mental evaluation was done and the patient referred to a mental health professional. An example of such professionals is a psychiatrist.
The doctors might also rely on the history of the bipolar condition in the family. That was achieved by talking to spouses or other close relatives of the patient. Bipolar disorder is hereditary in nature and is mostly passed through the genes. Not all off-springs will necessary have the disorder if the parents have a problem. They however are subjected of high chances of contracting it from their parents. Both males and females equally, affected and there is no gender that acts as a carrier or is immune to the disorder. Some genes are, however, immune to the disease and cannot contract the disease. Children whose family has had the bipolar disorder are likely to contract the disease even if the parents do not have the disease. It is also done to rule out treating the people that have a hypomania. Persons who have a depression alone were known as unipolar that is mainly confused with the bipolar condition. Persons with this condition do not experience mania at all in their lives (Merikangas, Kessler, Lee, Sampson & Zarkov, 2011).
The bipolar disorder can worsen if not diagnosed early and if left untreated. Some people that have the disorder might the treat the problem through the abuse of drugs. In some people, the situation might just get worse they abuse drugs. People do not mostly see the link between drugs and the condition. Doctors and other professionals, therefore, need to diagnose the patients so that they can determine their status. People should not assume on the disease immediately as there are other conditions that are similar. Schizophrenia is one of the most probable conditions followed by the unipolar condition.
Section Three:
Intervention
Seeking medical care is the best intervention that a patient with the disorder can get. Once they have been diagnosed then the steps that follow might prove to be very helpful in finding ways in which the threat of the condition could be reduced. Counseling is mainly done alongside the treatment that the patients were given. The treatment cannot only cure the disease, and it will also take professionals that are experienced to administer the counseling to the patients. If done effectively then the patient will be able to get better much quicker than when they are using the medicine alone.
The patient should be diagnosed at first, and the level that the disorder in on is determined. They should then be given their medication that will help in calming the condition that they are in before they are referred to a psychiatrist. That would help their condition to be neutralized much faster. Medical intervention is the most important after the diagnosis was done as it will assist in making the effect of the disease less. The psychiatrist will assist the patient showing them self-worth which will assist the medicine in taking effect. That was because most of them tend not to be able to accept that they have a mental disorder which can result in them committing suicide. Therefore, in the treatment plan there should be a professional who will be designated in advising them on how to go about with their life. The professional will also monitor the progress of the medicine assigned and if it should be changed. That was if it proved to be inefficient and giving the results that were expected. Therefore following the plan will be successful and will help them in a fast recovery. It would correspondingly guarantee that they acknowledge their condition and seek help when they feel helpless.
Section Four:
Empirical support
The best therapeutic method is one that consists of medication and counseling at the same time. The method is the best as it also includes making sure that their self-acceptance in the individuals. Most individuals stop using the medicine because they feel inferior of themselves because they have the condition. But through the method they can be advised on how they can continue to live normally and without any complications. Other methods do not offer these, and the medication that they have been given goes to waste. They stop using the medicine and he condition keeps growing and affecting those even more than what they were experiencing at first. Therefore, a method that has counseling in it better over all the other methods. The patient keeps taking the medication as they were required and have better chances of getting better. That could not be guaranteed in the other ways that do not offer these advantages (Van Meter, Moreira & Youngstrom, 2011).
Section Five:
References
Chen, C. H., Suckling, J., Lennox, B. R., Ooi, C., & Bullmore, E. T. (2011). A quantitative meta‐analysis of fMRI studies in bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorders, 13(1), 1-15.
Merikangas, K. R., Jin, R., He, J. P., Kessler, R. C., Lee, S., Sampson, N. A., & Zarkov, Z. (2011). Prevalence and correlates of bipolar spectrum disorder in the world mental health survey initiative. Archives of general psychiatry, 68(3), 241-251.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (2014). Bipolar Disorder. Retrieved on 29 November 2014 from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/bipolar-disorder/index.shtml
Sklar, P., Ripke, S., Scott, L. J., Andreassen, O. A., Cichon, S., Craddock, N., & Mahon, P. B. (2011). Large-scale genome-wide association analysis of bipolar disorder identifies a new susceptibility locus near ODZ4. Nature genetics, 43(10), 977.
Van Meter, A. R., Moreira, A. L., & Youngstrom, E. A. (2011). Meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies of pediatric bipolar disorder. The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 72(9), 1250-1256.
