Category Archives: Bipolar

Diagnosing Bipolar Disorder In Children

January 6, 2009

Most sufferers of bipolar disorder begin to show symptoms of this grave mental illness during adolescence or early adulthood. However, sometimes symptoms of bipolar disorder manifest in children from a very early ages. Childhood bipolar disorder presents its own problems, as far as treatment and diagnosis.

Imagine the following scenario: a child–let’s name him Ferdinand–is five-and-a-half years old, and almost ready to enter school. The boy is charismatic and smart, and shows good ability in maths and reading comprehension for a child his age. However, imagine that this same child has a wildly unpredictable temper. This child’s moods will change from sweet-tempered and outgoing, to wildly angry, to sullen and withdrawn, within the space of a single hour.

Furthermore, imagine that the boy is prone to extreme outbursts of emotions on a regular basis: when Ferdinand gets angry, he expends a shocking amount of energy during the course of his tantrums, an amount that will tire most adults. He screams and thrashes so wildly that his parents worry for his health. Sometimes, scenes with Ferdinand resemble the 1970′s American movie, The Exorcist, where it seems like this sweet boy is animated by supernatural demons. The child bites and scratches like an undomesticated squirrel caught in a trap, and has almost sent someone from his preschool into the hospital.

If the parents take Ferdinand the arcade to play video games, the excitement of the machines bleeping along, with their colourful graphics, sends the child into “overdrive mode.” Overstimulated, Ferdinand enters a frenzy and attempts to play every game at once. When this fails, the child enters a red rage and proceeds to bash his head against one of the machines. The embarrassed, terrified parents try to stop him and can’t. The boy seriously hurts himself, and is taken to the hospital.

Once his injuries heal, the hospital staff refer Ferdinand to a resident psychotherapist. The therapist gives the child a battery of tests to determine what is wrong with him. What is the therapist’s diagnosis?

If the therapist is a good one, the diagnosis should be childhood bipolar personality disorder. However, if the therapist has been caught up in the craze of diagnosing children with disorders such as ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder), Ferdinand stands a good risk of being misdiagnosed.

The fact is that bipolar disorder manifests differently in children than it does in older teenagers and adults. In older teenagers and adults (the age groups more likely to suffer from bipolar disorder), bipolar symptoms typically involve periods of depression and euphoric mania that last weeks or even months. In children, these varying moods often play out over the course of a single day. Perhaps as a result of this, mania in children rarely takes the form of unadulterated euphoria as it does in adults. Instead, manic children feel out-of-control and typically express themselves through uncontrollable rages.

0 Comments

Diagnosing Bipolar Disorder: Children And Young Adolescents

January 6, 2009

Between 1 and 2% of the UK population suffers from a serious mental illness called bipolar disorder. Children comprise an even smaller percentage of that initial 1-2%. In most patients, bipolar symptoms begin to appear during late adolescence or young adulthood. However, recently, mental health professionals have begun to pay attention to the phenomenon of children with bipolar disorder.

Until a decade ago, the diagnosis of bipolar disorder in children has been very rare. Bipolar kids were often misdiagnosed with attention-deficit disorder (ADD), or were simply explained away as “hard to discipline” and not treated for mental illness at all.

The reason for this confusion is that bipolar disorder (otherwise known as manic depression) manifests differently in children than it does in adults.

Bipolar adults typically suffer from extreme, lasting, difficult-to-control changes in mood that lasts days, weeks, or even months. Adults with bipolar disorder can spend weeks in a state of bipolar mania, during which they become euphoric, infinitely ambitious, often delusional, and sometimes even psychotic (i.e. their senses stop accurately conveying external reality). Bipolar adults can also spend weeks in a state of bipolar depression, during which they contemplate suicide, end work or educational commitments, and sometimes refuse to get out of bed. Furthermore, bipolar adults often have periods of weeks or months during which they are free of bipolar symptoms, of either mania or depression.

Bipolar kids are very different from bipolar adults. Bipolar children undergo in a single day–or a single hours–the extreme shifts of mood that their adult counterparts undergo over the course of many months. Bipolar kids undergo bursts of manic energy that last only twenty or thirty minutes. Without any warning, these kids can feel themselves overcome with strange powers, powers that seem not entirely pleasant. Unlike in adults, the mania and elation of bipolar children can turn into white-hot anger within minutes. That anger, in turn, can transform into deep depression.

The main difficulty in diagnosis children with bipolar disorder lies in the fact that manic and depressive episodes, in young kids, are hard to distinguish. Bipolar kids can exhibit anger and disruptive behaviours during manic as well as depressive episodes. What gives bipolar children away is typically their varying energy levels, which range from being much higher than those of average kids (during “manic” periods) to being much lower than those of average kids (during “depressive” periods).

0 Comments

Seeking Treatment: Bipolar Disorder

January 6, 2009

Bipolar disorder, otherwise known as manic-depression, is one of the most serious mental illnesses known to modern medicine. Bipolar patients suffer from wild, uncontrollable mood swings that cripple their personal, emotional, and professional lives.

Bipolar patients experience periods of alternating mania and depression that can last for several weeks, or as long as a year. Both emotional extremes pose grave risks for the bipolar sufferer. During periods of mania, bipolar patients often let their lives spiral out-of-control, euphoric, and heedless of the consequences of their actions. They can endanger themselves and others, and routinely harm their own health by failing to sleep and eat. During periods of depression, many bipolar patients feel that they lack the energy to accomplish even the most basic tasks of living. During these times, bipolar patients often abandon personal and professional, in the end facing much personal disappointment (and possibly financial ruin). Suicide is also a threat for the bipolar depressive.

Without proper psychiatric care, someone with bipolar disorder may undergo five or six extreme mood swings over the course of twenty years. Unfortunately, a six-month-long episode of delusional mania is often enough to seriously damage someone’s life for the next twenty or more years. Furthermore, a six-month episode of psychotic depression is often enough to drive someone to a tragic end, such as suicide.

However, with proper treatment, bipolar disorder patients’ decrease significantly. Although there is, as yet, no cure for bipolar disorder, the right treatment can greatly reduce the number of extreme mood swings that bipolar sufferers undergo in their lifetimes. With a combination of therapy and psychiatric drugs, bipolar patients can spend years or even decades without any manic, hypomanic, or severely depressive episodes.

There are several treatment options for those who suffer from bipolar manic-depression. A good therapist prescribes a bipolar patient a combination of these varying treatments, such as best suits the individual patient.

The first class of treatments involves drugs known as mood stabilizers, which prevent patients from experiencing undesirable extremes of mood. The most popular of these drugs is a naturally-occurring salt called lithium, which the mental health profession has used to treat manic-depressive symptoms for the past 50 years. Other treatments include anti-psychotics and anti-depressives, to lessen the impact of manic and depressive episodes when they do occur.

Typically, therapists complement these strictly chemical treatments with therapeutic ones. Often, manic-depressives are taught to recognise typical triggers of bipolar episodes (for example, insufficient sleep), and to avoid those triggers. They are also often taught to recognize the warning signs of mania or depression, and to take pre-arranged steps to prevent major episodes before they occur.

1 Comment

Prescription Drugs As Bipolar Disorder Treatments

January 6, 2009

Modern medicine and modern knowledge of brain chemistry has led to the development of a number of drugs to ease the debilitating effects of mental illness. One of the big demographics to have benefited from brain-altering psychiatric medications is people who suffer from bipolar disorder.

Bipolar manic depression: this terrible disease, which is also known as manic-depressive disorder, subjects its sufferers to extreme and uncontrollable that can last up to a year. Untreated, the disease can lead to personal and financial ruin for its sufferers, as well as possible incarceration, or even suicide. Fortunately, there are now many medications that can help to control the symptoms of this disease. With modern medicine, the sufferers of bipolar disorder can lead something that approximates a normal life.

The most oft-employed medication in the treatment of bipolar disorder is lithium carbonate. This naturally-occurring salt, if taken at a regular dosage over a long time,  helps to stabilize bipolar mood swings. A certified psychiatrist needs to determine the appropriate dosage of lithium to prescribe to each patient. A patient who takes the prescribed dosage on a regular basis (and only the prescribed dosage) over a period of six months or more can expect to undergo fewer episodes of mania and depression.

However, with lithium carbonate, proper dosage is crucial. If the amount of lithium in a patient’s bloodstream is too low, the drug is ineffective. If the amount of lithium is too high, it becomes toxic to the patient, who may then exhibit symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, loss of bowel control, and muscle tremors.

Other drugs used to treat bipolar disorder include carbamazepine, lamotrigine, and valproate. These substances fall into a class of medicines known as anticonvulsants. As the name implies, they are typically used to prevent involuntary muscle convulsions, such as those caused by epilepsy. Anticonvulsants have also proved effective at keeping the symptoms of bipolar mania under control. Sometimes anticonvulsants are used in conjunction with lithium. Lithium helps to stabilize the patient’s moods. Meanwhile, if any manic episodes do take place, despite the regular usage of lithium, lamotrigine and other drugs of that class mitigate their severity.

Antipsychotic medicines are the third class of drugs used to treat bipolar disorder. This class of drugs includes olanzapine, risperidone, and quetiapine. These medicines are considered “atypical” antipsychotic medications. All of these drugs are sedatives, and are typically used only against severe bipolar symptoms. In particular, they are useful in combating some of the more severe effects of bipolar mania, which can include disordered thought and hallucinations.

0 Comments

The Many Causes Of Bipolar Disorder

January 6, 2009

In the old days, if a person showed the kinds of intense mood swings and aggressive, irrational behaviour that people with bipolar disorder show on a regular basis, that person would have been branded “possessed.” Bipolar mania can bestow a person with reckless courage. Thus, it was possible for a bipolar sufferer to win a reputation for him or herself in the old days (it was easier for males to do this, of course), and to then be respected or at least left alone. However, ostracism, permanent imprisonment, and perhaps even murder were likelier fates for people with severe bipolar disorder during the earlier days of our civilization.

These days, of course, we think differently about human behaviour. Scientists eagerly seek the medical causes of bipolar disorder. As a reward for its diligences, medical science has received many clues about the possible causes of bipolar disorder. Alas, scientists have not, as yet, hit upon the exact cause. Indeed, most experts on the matter agree that bipolar disorder most likely has a number of different causes.

The study of brain chemistry, and, specifically, of neurotransmitters, has shed some light on the mystery of bipolar disorder. Neurotransmitters are the chemicals that are responsible for communication between individual cells in the brain’s vast and complicated neural network. Having too many neurotransmitters of one type, and not enough of another, can result in an imbalance in the brain’s chemistry, and, consequently, a disordering of emotions.

One neurotransmitter, in particular, may play a large role in the development of bipolar personality disorder. This neurotransmitter is a chemical known as norepinephrine. Too much norepinephrine in the brain, and the person may suffer from mania, a terrible symptom of bipolar personality disorder during which a person becomes energetic, euphoric (out of all proportion to his or her actual life circumstances), irresponsible, and irrational. Too little norepinephrine in the brain, and the person becomes depressed, lethargic, and possibly even suicidal.

Dopamine and serotonin are two more neurotransmitters that help determine a person’s level of happiness and energy. The production and activity levels of these neurotransmitter is often controlled by illegal mind-altering drugs, such as Ecstasy and crystal meth. These neurotransmitters can also play a role in the periods of mania and depression that characterize bipolar disorder.

What causes these these neurotransmitters to become so unbalanced at to result in bipolar disorder? Evidence suggests that genetics play a large role. People whose families have a history of bipolar disorder run a significantly higher risk of developing the disorder themselves. If a person’s identical twin suffers from bipolar disorder, then that person has a very high chance of developing the disorder him or herself. However, genetics are not the whole story. Environmental factors, such as long illness, drug abuse, traumatic accidents, or a difficult upbringing can bring about bipolar disorder, particular among those who are genetically predisposed to it.

0 Comments

Knowing The Symptoms Of Bipolar Disorder

January 6, 2009

Bipolar disorder, a grave mental illness affecting approximately 1.5% of the UK population, is still widely misunderstood by the general populace. Since the 19th century, mental illness have fascinated the general population, especially forms of mental illness that evince dramatic symptoms. Few forms of mental illness evince more dramatic symptoms than bipolar disorder. Thus, myths and misconceptions abound.

Bipolar disorder has been both glorified and vilified. Its dramatic symptoms, and its illustrious history among great figures in the sciences and the arts, have intimidated and awed people for decades. The madness of bipolar sufferers who have left a substantial artistic legacy, such as Vincent Van Gogh, has been glorified in a most inappropriate manner. At the same time, a considerable stigma is attached to the diagnosis of bipolar disorder for the “average person,” especially for women. Many people are reluctant to receive a diagnosis of having something “wrong in the head.” Many families, especially old-fashioned ones, perceive that a diagnosis of bipolar disorder (or any other type of mental illness) constitutes a blow to their reputation.

The statistics resulting from these attitudes are not surprising. Studies show that 75% of bipolar sufferers are either misdiagnosed or never diagnosed at all. If you suspect that you, or a loved one, may suffer from this illness, here are some typical symptoms of bipolar disorder to watch out for. Do not become another statistic.

Bipolar patients are subject to alternating cycles of mania and depression (that is why this illness is sometimes known as manic-depression). These periods of mania and depression can last for days, weeks, or months, and are sometimes interspersed with symptom-free periods. However, if the bipolar disorder is left untreated, the mania and depression will always return.

During their manic phase, bipolar sufferers will often appear to be full of energy. Often, people in the throes of bipolar mania will require no more than two or three hours of sleep per night. Typically, bipolar sufferers during this stage of their illness will also report feelings of euphoria, regardless of external circumstances in their lives. Feelings of self-worth tend to sky-rocket. The bipolar person often feels invisible, due to his or her boundless physical energy. Bipolar mania is a time for the bipolar sufferer to exhibit reckless, out-of-control behaviour. The manic person feels like he or she can do no wrong, and will often continue to feel this way even if they are jailed for their actions.

During the depressive phase, bipolar patients exhibit the typical signs of clinical depression. They feel little energy, and often evince little to no interest in the activities that once gave them pleasure. Unlike unipolar clinical depressives, who often suffer from insomnia, bipolar depressives usually oversleep.

If you or someone you know shows the above symptoms, it’s very important to sign up for psychiatric appointment. Bipolar disorder is a grave threat to one’s sanity, and even one’s very life.

0 Comments

Bipolar Disorder Manic Depression Risk Factors

January 6, 2009

Bipolar disorder manic depression conditions involve significant mood swings that alternate between elated excitement and dismal gloom. Individuals who have this condition may be prone to the mood disorder. However, some environmental factors may have an effect on the individual as well.

Prevalence of Bipolar Disorders

The current estimate of the number of people in the population who have the disorder is one percent. However, some professionals assert that significantly more people suffer from this mood disorder than is reported. Some bipolar people may not seek treatment for the condition and others may be misdiagnosed.

Manic depression may be misdiagnosed as depressive disorder since many people focus on the unpleasant gloomy stages rather than the excitement during the manic phases. With the consideration of misdiagnosed patients and those who do not seek treatment, some suggest that the prevalence may be nearly six percent.

Prevalence in Gender

Bipolar disorder and manic depression affects roughly the same number of men as it does women. This mood disorder is typically diagnosed when the individual is between fifteen and thirty years of age. However, children as young as six years old have been diagnosed with bipolar syndrome.

Risk Factors

There are some risk factors that make the condition more prevalent in certain populations. Individuals who have relatives who have the mood disorder are more prone to develop the condition as well. There may be a genetic component to manic depression.

Environmental factors also have a significant effect. Individuals who are exposed to a close friend or relative with bipolar may experience shared symptoms of the condition. The shared symptoms can evolve into a diagnosable form of manic depression in some cases.

Excessive stress is another significant risk factor that can have an effect on many people. Stressful situations may not lead to a mental illness. However, regular exposure to stress during regular periods of time can lead to the development of a bipolar disorder, especially if the stress is not managed properly.

Included in stressful situations are significant life changes. People can fall into a state of depression followed by elation when they experience drastic changes in their lives. Events like losing a loved one or moving to a new city can bring about great stress and possible mixed emotions.

Drug abuse can wreak havoc on an individual’s ability to cope. Bipolar disorder is believed to be a chemical imbalance and some substances can be detrimental to the delicate balance of chemicals in the brain.

Bipolar disorder is a problematic condition that can have a variety of causes. Individuals who have manic depression can understand their condition better as they consider the possible risk factors.

0 Comments

DSM IV Bipolar Criteria

January 6, 2009

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV is the formal tool used by physicians to diagnose various conditions. The DSM IV bipolar criteria are well organised into the various types of manic depression. Individuals who believe that they have the condition may refer to this resource to determine if an appointment with a physician is necessary.

Bipolar Disorder Types

The DSM IV organises manic depression into different types. Bipolar people experience this disorder in various ways, making it difficult to detect in some cases. The DSM IV serves to help create a standard approach to measuring the symptoms of the mood disorder in order to attribute the symptoms to a specific category.

Bipolar I Disorder

The first form of manic depression outlined in the DSM IV is bipolar I. The criteria for this condition include at least one manic or mixed episode. A manic episode consists of high energy and elation. Mixed episodes consist of depression and mania occurring at the same time. The individual may have had at least one episode of depression as well.

Bipolar II Disorder

Individuals who have bipolar II disorder experience major depression and hypomania. The manic episodes are not quite as drastic as those experienced in bipolar I disorder.

Aside from the two major forms of manic depression, the DSM IV organizes the condition further by outlining the criteria for major depression, mixed, manic and hypomania episodes.

Major Depression

The criteria for major depressive episodes include disinterest or lack of pleasure or a depressed mood. The symptoms should be apparent for at least two consecutive weeks and seven other symptoms make up the criteria including:

? Disrupted sleep patterns
? Sadness
? No interest in pleasurable activities
? Changes in appetite leading to weight loss or gain
? Low energy
? Physical agitation and clumsiness
? Inability to concentrate
? Guilt and low self-esteem
? Preoccupation with death or suicide

It is important to note that the individual experiences at least five of these symptoms, and depressed mood or loss of interest are two necessary elements.

Manic Episodes

The individual experiences elevated or agitated moods for at least one week as well as three or more of the following symptoms:

? Excessive confidence
? Feeling rested with very little sleep
? Talking excessively
? Easily distracted
? Motivated to achieve goals
? Racing thought processes
? Risky behaviours

The DSM IV also outlines the criteria for hypomania and mixed episodes in detail. Bipolar disorder is a complex issue and this publication helps professionals and patients develop a viable approach to diagnosing the condition.

0 Comments

Evolution of DSM Bipolar Classification

January 6, 2009

DSM bipolar classification has changed over the years as professionals have learned more about the mood disorder. The criteria for making a valid diagnosis of bipolar disorder have been through changes as well. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has been revised several times in order to stay current with new information.

Purpose of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual

The DSM serves a very important purpose; it creates a standard that professionals use in order to make an accurate diagnosis. Some conditions are quite complex, making them difficult to diagnose. The publication creates an understandable definition of mental disorders that are used to help identify conditions. The document is also effective in helping clinicians create viable treatment plans.

The DSM

The initial Diagnostic and Statistical Manual was published in 1952, when psychodynamic approaches were all the rage. The publication was slanted towards the prevalent theories of the early 1950′s. The focus of disorders was behaviour and disorders were thought to stem out of the way the person reacted to various factors including biological disposition and experiences.

DSM II

In 1968, the DSM II was published, reflecting the psychodynamic point of view inherit in the original publication. This document offered few changes from the original published in 1952. However, dramatic changes in the manual were on the horizon.

DSM III

The third publication of the manual was released in 1980. The new edition offers a very new point of view that included a biomedical perspective. The focus shifted from concepts to empirical data. This helped professionals recognize a clear distinction between normal behaviours and the specific behaviours exhibited by those who have disorders.

Introduction of Bipolar Disorder

The DSM III replaced the term ‘manic depression’ with bipolar disorder in 1980. The shift in language is a direct result of the shift in perspective from concepts to empirical data. Instead of focusing on the mania and depression, the document recognises the polarity of emotional states.

This document also introduced difference between childhood bipolar disorder and adult bipolar conditions. The distinction is an important step in the proper diagnosis of this mood disorder in children.

The current understanding of bipolar disorder is relatively new in the scheme of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. The condition is better understood and the criteria outlined in the DSM bipolar section is quite involved. The new understanding helps professionals and patients develop improved approaches to treating the condition.

0 Comments

Treatment of Bipolar Disorder Begins With a Diagnosis

January 6, 2009

Left untreated, bipolar disorder, also referred to as manic depression, can be an overwhelming, devastating major mental illness.  Characterized by intense high and low mood swings know as manic and depression phases, it often takes anywhere from five to ten or more years from the symptoms early stages to diagnose bipolar disorder correctly.  Even for trained, experienced professionals, bipolar disorder is often difficult to diagnoses, so if you are concerned about your mental health, instead of seeing your family doctor, have him or her refer you to a psychiatrist.

Many mental conditions and physical conditions have similar symptoms and can mimic bipolar disorder, which complicates the diagnosing and treatment of this disorder.  There is no blood work, x-rays or other clearly defined medical tests to diagnose bipolar disorder so doctors must first eliminate other health concerns to get an exact diagnosis.  Your doctor may conduct a physical exam and medical history, order blood work, x-rays and other lab tests to rule out other medications or illnesses.  Doctors will often talk to loved ones and friends about the patient’s behaviours and moods.  This helps the doctor get as much objective and accurate information as possible, often resulting in diagnosing and starting treatment of bipolar disorder.

Some physical conditions that have similar symptoms to bipolar disorder include sodium imbalance, acquired immune deficiency syndrome or AIDS, head trauma, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, lupus, vitamin B12 deficiency, Lyme disease and adrenal and thyroid disorders.  Thyroid disorders can mimic bipolar disorder as they often cause mood swings and extreme fatigue.  Doctors normally prescribe therapy and medications to patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder and may refer him or her to other healthcare professionals, such as a bipolar disorder specialist, psychologist, social worker or counsellor when developing a personalised bipolar disorder treatment plan.

With treatment of bipolar disorder, most patients with this condition receive significant ease from their symptoms but because this mental illness is recurrent, focus is on preventive care that is long-term.  A combined treatment of medication and psychotherapy may relieve current symptoms, address behavioural problems, and help prevent further mood episodes of depression or mania.  Continuous treatment is the best way to control bipolar disorder but even when the treatment is uninterrupted, a person can still have mood swings, so it is important to talk to your doctor immediately if this occurs.  It is important to maintain a good relationship and communicate openly with your doctor about the options and treatments available.

1 Comment
« Older posts
Newer posts »