Bipolar Disorder: What Is It And How Do You Treat It?

Bipolar disorder, or manic depression, is a condition which can be described as a group of mood disorders where a person experiences states or periods of depression, mania, hypomania, and/or mixed states. If it is left untreated, it can become a severely incapacitating psychiatric condition.

The distinction between bipolar disorder and major depression is that bipolar disorder has to do with energized or activated mood states as well as depressed mood moments.  The length and amount of mood states varies extensively among people with the illness. 

Irregularity from one mood state to the other is referred as “cycling” or simply having mood swings.  Mood swings can cause malfunctions in a person’s mood, sleep pattern, energy level, activity level, thinking abilities and social rhythms.  Some people will even become completely disabled, for some time, after being diagnosed with the illness, and during this time they may not be able to function normally. 

Most people who are diagnosed with bipolar disorder suffer from depression.  As a matter of fact, there is at least a three to one ratio of time being spent depressed in contrast to the time being spent in a normal mood or hypomanic or manic during the period of the bipolar I subtype of the illness. People with bipolar II subtype stay depressed for a significantly longer period of time.  A period that can reach up to 37 times longer than bipolar I. 

A study conducted in 2003 by Robert Hirshfeld, M.D., of the University of Texas, Galveston found patients fared not as good with their depression as the unipolar patients. 

When it comes to disability, lost years of efficiency and the probability of suicide, bipolar depression is now known as the most dangerous part of the illness. 

Severe depression can go together with the symptoms of psychosis.  Such symptoms consist of hallucinations and delusions.  They may also experience paranoid thoughts, such as the fear of being persecuted or monitored by some powerful entity like the government or a hostile force. 

Intense and abnormal religious beliefs can also be present, such as a person insisting that they have a God given role to play in the world, a great and historic mission to be accomplished, or even that they have supernatural powers.  Delusions in a depression have the potential to become much more distressing, occasionally by taking the form of immense guilt for supposed wrong doings that the individual believes he or she has imposed on others. 

There is no cure for bipolar disorder today, but it can be managed.  The highlights of the treatment for bipolar disorder are on successful management of the long-term course of the illness, which may include treatment of emergent symptoms.  Treatment methods involve pharmacological and psychological techniques. 

Bipolar disorder may be treated with a variety of medications.  Most people suffering from the illness may need combinations of different medications for a successful outcome. 

Deterioration of bipolar disorder 

Even while on medication, some patients may still experience weaker episodes or even have a complete manic or depressive episode.  The behaviors shown below can lead to depressive or manic relapse: 

·         Stopping use or lowering the dose of medication without consulting with the doctor. 

·         Being under or over medicated.  Normally, taking lower dosages of a mood stabilizer can cause the patient to relapse into mania.  Taking lower dosages of an antidepressant can lead to depression, whereas higher doses can promote destabilization into mixed-states or mania. 

·         Taking other psychotropic or recreational drugs like cocaine, marijuana or heroin.  Any of these drugs will worsen the condition. 

·         Sleep inconsistency can destabilize the illness.  Over sleeping can cause depression, while under sleeping can lead to mixed states or mania. 

·         Too much caffeine can cause destabilization of mood following states of irritability, dysphoria and mania. 

·         Unsatisfactory stress management and poor lifestyle decisions.  Especially if not under a medication, too much stress can cause a person to relapse.  Medication will raise the stress threshold in some way, but excessive stress still causes relapse.