MOOD AND BIPOLAR IMBALANCES

Bipolar disorder is a condition with extreme modifications in mood and fluctuations in energy and activity concentrations that can make daily life difficult.

Previously known as manic depression, it is a serious mental illness that can destroy relationships, undermine career possibilities, and significantly effect academic achievement if left untreated. In some cases, it may lead to suicide.

Approximately 2.9% of Americans are diagnosed with bipolar disorder and 83% are categorized as severe. The most common diagnosis occurs between the ages of 15 and 25, but it can happen at any age. It also affects males and females alike.

Quick facts about bipolar disorder

Here are a couple of key points about bipolar disorder. More details are provided in the main article.

  • Bipolar disorder is a serious condition with serious abnormalities of the mood.

  • Individuals experience mania or hypomania and alternating bouts of anxiety that may involve psychosis.

  • Episodes with stable intervals between them can last for several weeks or months.

  • Medication can be controlled, but it may take some time to find the right dose and mixture.

What is a disease that is bipolar?

There are many blended feelings involved in bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder’s primary symptoms are alternating episodes of intense euphoria, or mania, and major depression.

The changes may be serious, but between the highs and troughs, moods may be normal.

The mood swings associated in bipolar disorder are far more serious, weakening, and disabling than most people experience.

Some individuals may have hallucinations and other symptoms.

Many individuals with the disorder can operate, study, and live a complete, productive life with therapy. Some individuals, however, stop or choose not to take their medicine.

Some studies have shown that there may be increased creativity among individuals with bipolar disorder. Mood swings, however, can make it difficult to maintain attention to projects or to carry out plans, leading in the individual having begun a lot of projects, but nothing has been completed.

Symptoms

Symptoms differ from person to person, depending on mood. Some individuals have clear mood swings, with mania and then anxiety symptoms that last for several months, or with months of stability between them. Some stay in a “elevated” or “low” mood for months or years.

A “blended state” is when simultaneously a manic and a depressive episode occurs. Like with depression, the person may feel negative, but they may also feel “wired” and restless.

  • Impaired judgment

  • Sensation of “wired”

  • Sensation of boredom or distraction

  • Work or school missing or underperforming

  • They believe they can “do anything.”

  • Believing nothing is wrong.

  • Being extremely forward-looking, sometimes aggressive.

  • A feeling of enthusiasm or euphoria on top of the world

  • Excessive self-confidence, self-esteem and self-importance

  • Excessive and quick speech, pressurized speech that can jump from topic to topic

  • Racing thoughts that come and go quickly, and bizarre ideas that the person can take action.

Depressive symptoms

Individuals may experience in a depressive episode:

  • a sense of darkness, blackness, desperation, and hopelessness

  • extreme sorrow

  • insomnia and sleeping issues

  • anxiety about trivial things

  • pain or physical issues that do not react to therapy

  • guilt, and a sense that everything that goes wrong or appears wrong is their fault..

  • Changes in eating patterns, whether eating more or eating less

  • weight loss or weight gain

  • extreme exhaustion, tiredness and insanity

  • failure to enjoy activities or interests that generally offer pleasure

  • low attention span and memory difficulties.

  • Irritation, potentially caused by noise, smells, tight clothes, and other things that would normally be tolerated or overlooked

  • Inability to face going to work or school, potentially leading to underperformance In serious instances, individuals may believe of ending their lives, and may act upon those ideas.

Psychotic symptoms may include delusions that are false but strongly felt beliefs, and hallucinations that involve hearing or seeing things that are not present.

Bipolar disorder children and adolescents are more likely to experience temper tantrums, fast changes in mood, outbursts of aggression, explosive rage, and reckless behaviour.

Diagnosis A psychiatrist or psychologist diagnosis is based upon the criteria set out in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5).

The individual has to fulfill certain mania and depression requirements, including high or irritable mood and “persistently enhanced levels of exercise or energy.”

Secondary signs of the disease may have been identified by other healthcare practitioners.

A physical exam and some diagnostic tests may be performed by the doctor, including blood and urine exams.

This can assist eliminate other potential symptom causes, such as abuse of substances.

Other circumstances with bipolar disorder may include:

  • Use of medicines or alcohol to deal with symptoms

  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

  • anxiety disorder

  • attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may mask a diagnosis, however.

Types of bipolar disorder

One of three wide kinds of bipolar disorder may be diagnosed. Bipolar I disorder Bipolar I diagnosis:

  • At least one manic episode must have occurred

  • The individual must also have had a significant depressive episode before.

  • The physician must rule out bipolar disorder disorders such as depression, delusional disorder and other psychiatric illnesses.

Bipolar II Disorder

The person must have had one or more episodes of depression and at least one hypomanic episode for a diagnosis of bipolar II.

There is less serious a hypomanic state than a manic one.

Sleeping less than usual and being competitive, outgoing and full of energy are features of a hypomanic episode.

The individual is fully functioning, however, which with manic episodes may not be the case.

Bipolar II can also involve mixed episodes, and there may be symptoms of mood-congruent or mood-incongruent psychotic features.

A mood-consistent psychosis would include mood-consistent features. For instance, if a individual has depression, mood-congruent psychosis may have a sadness theme.

A person who receives a diagnosis of bipolar disorder has a lifelong diagnosis. They may enter a period of stability, but they will always have the diagnosis.

Treatment aims at minimizing the frequency of manic and depressive episodes and reducing symptom severity to allow a comparatively ordinary and productive life.

A bout of depression or mania, left untreated, may continue for up to 1 year. Improvements can be made with therapy within 3 to 4 months.

Treatment includes a mixture of therapies that may include drugs as well as physical and psychological interventions. The individual may continue to experience changes in mood, but working closely with a physician may decrease seriousness and make the symptoms more manageable.

Causes

Bipolar disorder does not seem to have a single cause, but is more probable to result from a variety of interacting variables.

Genetic factors

Some studies have suggested that bipolar disorder may have a genetic element. It is more likely to emerge in a person who has a family member with the condition.

Biological characteristics Bipolar disorder patients often demonstrate physical changes in their brains, but the connection remains uncertain.

Brain-chemical imbalances: In many mood disorders, including bipolar disorder, neurotransmitter imbalances seem to play a main role.

Hormonal problems: Hormonal imbalances might trigger or cause bipolar disorder.

Environmental factors may lead to or cause bipolar disorder: abuse, mental stress, a “important loss,” or some other traumatic event.

One possibility is that some people with genetic predisposition to bipolar disorder may not have noticeable symptoms until a severe mood swing is triggered by an environmental factor.

Natural remedies for bipolar disorder treatment are a severe mental illness, but a number of lifestyle remedies and natural treatments may assist to decrease symptoms.

In bipolar disorder, what is pressured speech?

Sometimes a individual with bipolar disorder, particularly during a manic stage, can talk in a fast and disorganized manner. They may talk loudly, urgently, or inappropriately. This can influence interactions between people and work. The underlying disorder treatment can assist to decrease or handle pressurized speech.