Treatments for Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a long-term mood illness that causes in sudden changes in mood, energy, and behavior. The primary symptoms of the disorder are manic and hypomanic episodes. The majority of those who have it experience depressed periods. Medication, talk therapy, lifestyle modifications, and other treatments can help you manage the disease.

How common is bipolar disorder?

About 5.7 million adult Americans, or 2.6% of the population, suffer from bipolar disorder.

Types of bipolar disorder

The disorder comes in four different forms, including:

Bipolar Disorder I: People who have bipolar I disorder have gone through one or more manic episodes. The majority of people with bipolar I will have both manic and depressive episodes.

Bipolar II disorder: Those who have bipolar II go through both hypo manic and depressed phases. However, they never go through a full manic episode, which is a sign of bipolar I disease.

Cyclothymic disorder (cyclothymia): Cyclothymic disorder is characterized by a continuously unstable mood. They go through mild sadness and hypomania for at least two years. Euthymia, or brief episodes of normal mood, can occur in people with cyclothymia, but they seldom endure longer than eight weeks.

Other specified and unspecified bipolar and related disorders: If a person has experience times of clinically significant abnormal mood elevation but does not fulfill the diagnostic criteria for bipolar I, II, or cyclothymia, it is regard to have other specified or unspecified bipolar illness.

Why does bipolar disorder occur?

Researchers still don’t fully understand the root cause of disorder. However, they do think there is a significant genetic component. It is regard as one of the most inherited mental illnesses.

The following are some of the causes of bipolar disorder:

Brain changes: Researchers have discover minute variations in the typical size or activation of specific brain regions in bipolar illness sufferers. Brain scans, however, are unable to identify the problem.

Environmental factors like stress and trauma: A stressful event, like the death of a love ones, a serious illness, divorce, or financial difficulties, can cause a manic or depress episode. As a result, trauma and stress may potentially contribute to the onset of bipolar disorder.

Who is impacted by bipolar illness?

Anyone can be affect by bipolar disorder. The usual age of onset is 25, although it occasionally might occur as young as infancy or as old as your 40s or 50s. The disorder tend to affect people assigned male at birth (AMAB) and those assign female at birth (AFAB) differently, despite the fact that both groups are affect in roughly equal numbers.

People with bipolar disorder may experience mood swings more frequently. Rapid cycling is the term used to describe patients with this particular disorder who have four or more manic or depress episodes in a calendar year. Variable levels of thyroid and sex hormones, as well as the propensity of AFAB individuals to receive antidepressant prescriptions, could all be factors in this population’s more rapid cycling. Bipolar disorder patients who are AFAB may also go through more depressive episodes than those who are AMAB.

How is bipolar illness identified?

A complete medical history, which will include questions about your symptoms, lifetime history, experiences, and family history, is one of the various methods your healthcare provider may use to diagnose bipolar illness.

Blood testing and other medical procedures to rule out other illnesses like hyperthyroidism that could be the source of your symptoms.

A diagnosis of mental illness.

The following mental health issues are more common in people with the disorder:

• Anxiety.
• Hyperactive/attention-deficit disorder (ADHD).
• Trauma-related stress disorder (PTSD).

Conclusion

Since bipolar disorder is a chronic disorder, treatment must be ongoing. Sometimes it can take months or even years for you and your healthcare professional to come up with a thorough treatment plan that is effective for you. Even though this could be depressing, it’s crucial to keep up with your treatment.