Introduction
Bipolar disorder is something that is not unheard of, but at the same time, a lot of people don’t exactly know what it is. Some people associate it with being moody, overly emotional, having multiple personalities, or being a drama queen. But it is much more than moodiness. It’s a real disease with real people living with it. Today, it affects more than 1 percent population of the world. It’s a lifelong disease that can be managed by medicine, talk therapy, and with the support of your family. But it’s difficult to come to terms with this mental disorder- both for the families and especially for those living with bipolar disorder. In this article, we will explore how bipolar disorder affects individuals and families, the challenges that they face, and the support system that can make a real difference.
What is Bipolar disorder?
Bipolar disorder is a mental illness known for extreme shifts in the mood of an individual throughout the week or sometimes even throughout the day. It was formerly known as manic disorder, a term that is still used by a lot of individuals. It leads to extreme shifts in mood, energy concentration, and the ability to carry out day-to-day activities of an individual.
People with bipolar disorder experience the feeling of ‘high’ and ‘low’, sometimes one after the other or individually.
Types of bipolar
Before knowing about all the types of bipolar, let us know about some terms to help them understand better.
Mania- A state of HIGH or elevated mood. It includes psychosis or psychotic symptoms like delusion, hallucination, elation, or paranoia.
Hypomania- It is a less severe form of mania; in it, individuals also feel a high or elevated mood, and can sometimes quickly turn into mania too. In hypomania, psychotic symptoms never happen.
Depressive episode- A state or feeling of LOW or sadness that can affect an individual’s life.
Bipolar disorder type I
Type I disorder is characterized by at least one episode of mania, which must have lasted longer than a week, with some depressive episodes.
People during mania or hypomania feel happy and joyful and experience a sense of well-being. They are easily distracted, confident, or adventurous, which they don’t feel in their normal state. Some people also experience that they need less sleep to feel fresh. And they also seem focused and determined to complete their tasks or projects.
Bipolar disorder type II
Type II disorder is characterized by at least one depressive episode or symptoms of hypomania that lasted at least four days.
People having depressive episodes feel down, upset, and tearful. They are normally tired, sluggish, or uninterested. They have low self-esteem, and they are highly suicidal. During these episodes, they typically avoid social situations or gatherings.
Cyclothymic disorder
This disorder is characterized by an unstable mood for a period of at least two years. These mood swings range from mild depression to low-level hypomania but never reach a full-blown manic stage.
People with mixed episodes feel both emotions, so it’s hard to know what they are really feeling. Because of this, they find managing their emotions more exhausting.
Causes and risk factors
Even though active research is still going on on this disorder, the exact cause of this disorder is not known till now. But there are some researchers who claim that it is a mixture of genetic, biological, and environmental factors. In some people, bipolar disorder could be the result of childhood trauma, too. Having a first or second-degree relative could also increase your chances of having bipolar disorder. In contrast, some studies on twins show the chances of one twin developing bipolar while the other remains healthy.
People with bipolar are most likely to have problems with substance misuse, like alcohol, drugs, and smoking. Sometimes physical health conditions or trauma in childhood could lead individuals to have bipolar disorder, too.
Diagnosis and treatment
Even though this disorder can start at any age, it is generally diagnosed during either the teenage years or in the early twenties of a particular individual. It is only diagnosed by a mental health professional, like a psychiatrist. A psychiatrist will diagnose bipolar by some assessment tests, a personal interview with you and your family members, and by keeping a check on your emotions by telling you to keep a mood diary.
In most cases, an accurate diagnosis of bipolar is difficult too because individuals normally reach out to health professionals during the most common episode, which is a depressive episode, which looks like unipolar depression itself. This is why the detection of hypomania periods and longer assessments are crucial to differentiate bipolar disorder from others.
Generally, psychiatrists will use a mix of medicines and behavioral therapy to treat this disorder. They tend to use more talk therapy when you are in your depressive episodes, which helps a lot of people cope with it.
Importance of early diagnosis
Early diagnosis of bipolar can change the overall quality of life of an individual. Because the more episodes you experience of highs and lows the more there are chances of complications in this disorder. Early diagnosis will help you decrease the risk of episodes, manage your condition effectively, reduce the risk of being suicidal, and help you minimize the negative impact that you might have on your personal and professional life.
Living with bipolar disorder
Living with bipolar sometimes can feel challenging, but it is not entirely difficult to live as a healthy person. Because of it, more often than not, your relationship with your family and loved ones can feel like slipping away or daunting in the sense that you can’t communicate your way out of the situation, or you feel stressed about your professional life. Or you sometimes seem to have made a decision recklessly that your friends and family don’t approve of. But even with all of these decisions that you made, you are still you, and that overbears you even more.
Conclusion
I hope this blog helps you see that bipolar disorder is not just being moody, it’s something much more complex. With that, I want you people to remember it’s ok to seek help when in need from either your family or a professional. We should, together as a society, work on the reduction of stigma related to mental health conditions like bipolar so that individuals with these complex disorders can come out and talk about them easily without fear of people judging them. A sad reality is that a majority of people with bipolar disorder stop going to their psychiatrist at one time, the reason being a change from one emotional episode to another. If you or someone in your family has this disorder, please go see a psychiatrist and try to understand them by asking how they are feeling or what you can do for them to make them feel better. If you like this blog, feel free to click here to read more health, nutrition, and wellness-related blogs.