Essay Example on Bipolar disorder also most known as manic Depression

Bipolar disorder also most known as manic depression is a common recurrent and debilitating mood disorder which causes extreme shifts in energy and mood The word bipolar indicates the two main polar extremes which a person with the disorder experiences According to NMH a branch of the National Institutes of Health NIH that oversees neurological and psychological research this disorder affects about 2 3 million adults in the United States and about 1 2 percent of the population worldwide The first signs of this disorder usually appear in adolescence and early adulthood with cases occurring in childhood Bipolar disorder can sometimes be co morbid with several other disorders including panic disorder social phobia generalized anxiety disorder and substance dependence There are three different types of bipolar disorder most of which are mostly characterized by the presence and or frequency of certain episodes of which there are several kinds Manic episodes normally will last for at least one week and are characterized by persistently irritable and elevated moods euphoria impulsiveness and expansiveness People suffering from a manic episode will usually have racing thoughts and will speak using quick run on sentences They will be noticeably more active than usual get far less sleep engage in several activities at once and be very unorganized in said activities 

People who are going through a hypomanic episode are usually cheerful and pleasant need little sleep and seem to always have an abundance of energy They may even feel a sense of heightened creativity While hypomania sounds in many ways like a desirable condition there are significantly negative downsides Even though hypomania is less severe than mania it can still affect a person s judgment with overconfidence leading to dangerous actions with consequences that the person may not have considered Even more alarming is the fact that hypomania is very difficult to diagnose because those with the affliction are often mistaken for simply having a naturally energetic temperament It is very important to diagnose hypomania because as a stage of bipolar disorder it will eventually cycle into depression which carries with it the high potential risk of suicide 

Some research suggests that multiple factors may interact to produce abnormal function of brain circuits that results in bipolar disorder s symptoms of major depression and mania Examples of environmental factors may include stress alcohol or substance abuse and lack of sleep Credits WebMD Bipolar disorder doesn t have a cure but there is treatment for it When bipolar disorder is treated there s therapy medications and supportive care to treat it There are several basic medications available to those with bipolar disorder However these medications carry an increased risk of mania especially if not taken with a mood stabilizer Some of the more severe cases of bipolar where psychosis is present require the use antipsychotic drugs However these antipsychotics sometimes carry side effects which are just as detrimental as the symptoms they treat Several people have reported that these antipsychotics cause panic attacks mania and psychosis Unfortunately compliance with medications can present a major problem as well as an individual is quite likely to lose the awareness that they need to be medicated during a manic episode