Bipolar
29/09/2024
What is bipolar disorder?
- Bipolar disorder is a mental condition when the individual has very extreme mood swings. they could be extremely happy one minute and then extremely sad or angry the next. these mood swings could be switched by anything it could even be something little such as they dropped something or its raining.
- There are many different types of bipolar but the main ones are called bipolar I disorder and bipolar II disorder.
Symptoms of bipolar
- There are many different types of bipolar disorder. each disorder has different symptoms.
- Symptoms in children and teens (adolescents) are much more difficult to spot. Although the symptoms are still similar to when an adult has bipolar, i teens it is much harder to spot because you might not be bale to tell if these symptoms are just the usual ups and downs a regular teenager will have from going through puberty and teens are just usually more emotional than adults. The symptoms may be hard to spot because you might not k now if these are just regular mood swings due to stress or trauma, or even other medical conditions.
- The main symptoms of bipolar in teens could be a shift in mood swings that are quite drastic from their usual behaviors.
- Bipolar I disorder = the individual has had at least one manic episode that may come before or after hypo-manic or major depressive episodes. In some cases, mania may cause a break from reality. This is called psychosis.
- Bipolar II disorder = The individual has had at least one major depressive episode and at least one hypo-manic episode. But you've never had a manic episode.
- Cyclothymia = The individual has had at least two years (or one year in children and teenagers ) of many periods of hypo-mania symptoms and periods of depressive symptoms and episodes. These symptoms are less severe than major depression, but still more severe than what an average persons mood swings/depressive episodes look like.
- Other types of bipolar = These other types of bipolar disorder include bipolar and related disorders caused by certain drugs or alcohol, or due to a medical condition, such as Cushings disease, multiple sclerosis or stroke. These other types of bipolar are not as server as the other bipolar disorders such as bipolar I and bipolar II but are still more server than the average persons moods and behaviors.
Tips to help prevent bipolar
- Pay attention to all the signs . Talking to people who know a bit about mental health and the symptoms such as a doctor or therapist could help the condition and mood swings from getting worse.
- Ask the people around you such as family members and friends to help look out for the signs. this could be a great way to see if you are showing some signs of bipolar because they can see how you act, and they can see some things you cant see.
- Get enough sleep. Getting enough sleep every night could help to reduce stress, anxiety and even depression because your brain is able to shut off and rest whilst your sleeping. You should be aiming for at-least 8 hours of deep, restful sleep every night and for teenagers they should be aiming for around 9-10 hours per night.
- Stay away from drugs and alcohol. People should be staying away from drugs that aren't prescribed by a doctor anyways. Adolescents should be staying away from drugs and alcohol even more because a human brain isn't full developed until around the age of 25. Alcohol will have some very server long-term affects for anyone especially adolescents if addicted and drink it too often. Drinking high percentages of alcohol too often could stun the growth of the brain and could cause memory loss and a lot more server consequences long-term.
- Stay regular with medication. if the individual is prescribed medication from a doctor they should take it regularly as told. The individual also should not decrease or increase the intake on their own and should listen to the doctor. The individual may also be tempted to stop taking the medications at all. If the individual does this without the doctor suggesting it, they could be reversing all the chemical in their body from the medication and it could result in the symptoms getting worse overtime.
Causes of bipolar
- Biological differences = some people with bipolar disorder may appear to have physical changes in their brains. The importance of these changes is still uncertain, but more research may help identify why these changes are happening.
- genetics = bipolar disorder is more common is people who have a first-degree relative, such as a sibling or a parent with the condition. They could have any type of bipolar disorders. Researchers are trying to find genes that could be causing the development of bipolar disorder in individuals.