A mood disorder can change anyone’s life. You can feel happy for a while and then become sad for no apparent reason. It affects not only your health but also the social groups around you. One of the common mood disorders which occurs in one person is none other than Bipolar Disorder.
A bipolar disorder is a mental health illness that constantly changes between high and low moods. You may feel being mania or hypomania in a high mood. In a low mood, you will feel depressed. You may sense euphoria and melancholy at a similar moment when your mood shifts.
Even though it is the most common mood disorder, in reality, it is tough to diagnose. Depression and other aspects can overshadow the illness. But some symptoms and types can help you identify the bipolar disorder.
Types of Bipolar Disorder
Here are the types of Bipolar illness.
Bipolar I:
A person with bipolar must have experienced manic episodes. For an occasion to be considered a manic episode:
- Constant shifts in a person’s behaviours and moods.
- A depressive episode can last up to two weeks.
Bipolar II:
This disorder involves high and low moods. In that case, sad symptoms are more likely to control the patients than severe manic symptoms. This less serious type of mania is known as hypomania.
- Having at least one episode of hypomania.
- Experienced at least one episode of depression.
- Do not have any other conditions that explain the symptoms.
Cyclothymic Disorder:
This disorder shifts between bipolar I and II, but it seems less dramatic. You can usually operate in your daily life if you have the cyclothymic disorder, though not well. Because you never know how you will feel, the unpredictability of your mood swings might disrupt your life.
Other Specified and Unspecified Bipolar and related disorders:
If a person does not meet any criteria of bipolar I, II, or cyclothymic illness, but still experiences an abnormal mood elevation. It can be considered a specified or unspecified bipolar disorder.
Common Signs of Bipolar Disorder
The signs of bipolar disorder are divided into those going through mania or depression episodes.
Signs for Mania
- Feeling jumpy or weird
- Getting distracted easy
- Fluctuations in sleeping pattern
- Talking very fast, often having racing thoughts and changing the subject.
- Having a low appetite
- Sometimes feeling overly happy
- Encountering risky behavior like gambling, big-spending sprees, etc.
Signs for Depression
- Nonstop Crying
- Lack of Motivation
- Irritated
- Overwhelmingly Sad
- Insomnia or Hypersomnia
- Change in appetite, and sudden weight loss or gain
- Thoughts of deaths and suicide
- Difficulty in concentrating and making a decision
- Low energy and fatigue
- Loss of enjoyment of things that once made you happy.
Signs of Mixed Feelings:
The indications of a mixed episode includes both manic and depressive warning signs. During the mixed episode, you have negative feelings and thoughts that come from depression but also agitated restlessness and high energy. People who experience mixed feelings can describe the worst parts of bipolar disorder.
Signs of Hypomania:
In hypomania, people with bipolar disorder have milder manic-like symptoms. Persons with hypomania can function well in social circumstances or at work. During a hypomanic episode, you may not notice anything is amiss. Your relatives and friends, on the other hand, may notice your mood swings and variations in activity level and think they are odd for you.
Reasons that Causes Bipolar Disorder
No one knows the causes of bipolar disorder. It is believed that bipolar disorder is considered a heritable psychiatric condition; more than two-thirds of people have at least one close relative with bipolar disorder. Here are some other factors that contribute to the development of bipolar disorder.
1. Changes due to Surroundings like trauma or stress: A nerve-wracking event such as the death of a loved one, serious illness, or any financial problems can activate any manic or depressive episode.
2. Fluctuations in your Brain: A subtle difference in the average size or activation of some brain structures in people can lead to bipolar disorder. But, even with brain scans, you cannot diagnose this brain condition.
Treatment for Bipolar Disorder:
For bipolar disorder treatment, a combination of therapies are included such as:-
- Medications
- Psychotherapy
- Self-management strategies
- Healthy habits
- Other therapy methods such as electroconvulsive (ECT) in cases that are poorly responsive to medication or rapid control of symptoms are necessary to prevent harm.
Bipolar disorder is a chronic illness that necessitates a lifelong commitment to treatment. It can take months or even years for you and your healthcare professional to come up with a thorough treatment plan that is right for you.
Summing Up:
If you are suffering from bipolar disorder, then making a few lifestyle changes can stop patterns of behaviour that worsen the symptoms. However, there is no way to prevent bipolar disorder but if you know the signs and symptoms you can seek early intervention. I hope the above points can assist you with bipolar disorder.
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