Bipolar " A Serious Disease If Not Treated

By Ken P Doyle

All of us have our daily ups and downs with some days really down and other days we are full of life. But those suffering from this mental illness called bipolar disorder, their good days are really high and their low days very, very low. Individuals with symptoms of bipolar disorder can have problems with their work, their school performance, relationships can nosedive and their day to day activities disrupted. Bipolar disorder is a treatable disease, but a lot of patients are not able to recognize the warning signs and get immediate help. It must be noted that this mental disorder can get worse if its not treated on time. Therefore it is important to know and learn the symptoms and seek help immediately. In other words relatives and friends must be able to recognize the symptoms for it is the way forward to getting bipolar symptoms under control.

Also known as manic depression, bipolar which is a mental disease with severe shifting of mood, thoughts, behavior and energy level. The high energy is called mania on one side and the low energy - depression. In some patients the cycles of bipolar can take days, and some others weeks and even months. Mood swings in bipolar are not like ordinary mood changes because it is severe and usually interferes with daily activities.

The Difference of Mania and Depression

When individuals are going through bipolar mania they can become very impulsive and leave their jobs, have a few credit cards with lots of credit and sleep for a few hours without feeling tired. Patients going through the depressive episode, the same individual can become very tired after a long rest and get out of bed tired with feelings of being helpless and hopeless.

What Causes Bipolar?

Nobody really knows what causes bipolar disorder. It is believed that this mental illness is passed on by family members, biological and environmental. Bipolar symptoms can be noticed in young children as young as two but that has to be verified by the experts. The bipolar symptoms in children can be both subtle and confusing. In adults it is straight forward, the only difficulty is other symptoms similar to bipolar showing together. It is probably the reason why many people are misdiagnosed. With the right diagnosis and treatment bipolar victims can live a normal life.

Bipolar Medication

To help control the lows and highs of bipolar symptoms, doctors are treating bipolar disorder with mood stabilizers. This medication may have some serious side effects, but they are the key in treating both mania and depression symptoms. Lithium is an old medication but quite effective as a mood stabilizer. It has been very effective in treating bipolar mania. - 29956

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