Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is a brain disorder that causes highs and lows in mood and energy that are so pronounced they affect an individual's daily life and functioning. Approximately 1 percent of the United States population has bipolar disorder. The National Institute of Mental Health states that affected individuals typically start displaying symptoms in their late teens or early twenties, and half or more cases of the disease are diagnosed before the age of 25.
Symptoms
Symptoms of bipolar disorder are usually manic episodes interspersed with depressive episodes. Manic episodes, or mania, is more than just extreme happiness. Symptoms of mania include an extremely "wired" mood, an overly happy or outgoing mood, pressured speech, being easily distracted, sleeping very little, impulsive behavior with high-risk activities, and having an unrealistic self-perception. The flip side of that, depressive episodes, include a prolonged period of feeling sad or empty, a loss of interest in things you once enjoyed, difficulty concentrating, restlessness or irritability, and having suicidal thoughts. There may be "normal" moods breaking up the episodes of mania and depression, where a person is not experiencing any extreme mood changes and is functioning as normal.
Causes and Risk Factors
While one exact cause of bipolar disorder is not known, an assortment of factors appear to be involved in the development of the disorder. Using imaging studies, individuals with bipolar disorder appear to have physical changes in the brain, according to the experts at the Mayo Clinic. Bipolar disorder is also thought to have a genetic component, since the disorder is more commonly diagnosed in individuals who have a family history of the disorder. Twin studies have also shown that there may be an environmental component to the disorder, since one identical twin might be diagnosed with the disorder, and the other twin will not be affected. This shows that genes are not the sole component to the disorder. Risk factors that might trigger underlying bipolar disorder may include drug abuse, periods of high stress and major life changes.
Treatment
Bipolar is a chronic, lifelong disease that requires management. The main treatments for bipolar disorder include medication, psychotherapy, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and hospitalization. Medications may include antidepressants, mood stabilizers and anti-seizure medications, since these have been shown to reduce mood swings. If the anti-seizure medications fail to control the mood swings, anti-psychotic or anti-anxiety drugs may be used to control the drastic mood changes, according to the Mayo Clinic. Psychotherapy may include individual therapy, most commonly cognitive behavioral therapy; group therapy and family therapy. ECT and hospitalization are used when the previous treatments have not worked, and more drastic measures need to be taken in order to stabilize moods.
