What is Bipolar Disorder?
Bipolar disorder is a condition that affects people by moving their moods from being very good to irritable and depressed in a short period of time. These mood swings change back and forth rapidly.
Bipolar disorder is encountered in men and women equally. The signs of being bipolar typically begin between the ages of 15-25. The causes of this disorder are unknown but have been known to surface more often when relatives of the person affected have the same bipolar disorder.
Different types of Bipolar Disorder
- Type 1 Bipolar Disorder: At least one manic episode and periods of major depression. In the past, this was called manic depression.
- Type 2 Bipolar disorder: People affected by type 2 bipolar disorder have never had an episode of full mania. They experience periods of high energy levels and impulsiveness that are not as extreme as type 1 mania (hypomania). These are then followed by depression.
- Cyclothymia is a mild form of bipolar disorder and has less severe mood swings. People having this form will swing between hypomania and a form of mild depression. More often people with this type of mild bipolar are misdiagnosed with depression.
In most cases of people with bipolar disorder, there is no clear root cause for the depressive or manic episodes.
The following may trigger a manic episode in people with bipolar disorder:
- Life changes such as childbirth
- Recreational drug usage
- Periods of sleeplessness
- Medications including but not limited to antidepressants, steroids, or even anti-seizure medications
Symptoms
The manic phases can last for at little as hours and as long as months.
They can include the following symptoms:
- Distracted easily
- Sleep patterns changing
- Poor or no judgment
- Erratic temper
- Lack of self-control and reckless behavior
- Binge eating, drinking, and/or drug use
- Poor judgment
- Sex with many partners (promiscuity)
- Spending sprees
- Very elevated mood
- Excess activity (hyperactivity)
- Increased energy
- Racing thoughts
- Talking a lot
- Very high self-esteem (false beliefs about self or abilities)
- Very involved in activities
- Very upset
- Agitated or irritated
The mania symptoms occurring with Bipolar Disorder 1 can be similar to the symptoms in Bipolar Disorder 2 but less severe. There is a high risk of suicide in people with bipolar disorder and getting to a rehabilitation center to handle these symptoms is very important. When the two phases of manic and depressive symptoms overlap this is what they call a mixed state.
Tests for bipolar disorder
There are many factors involved in testing for bipolar disorder. Consulting with a health care facility and or drug rehabilitation center that specializes in dual diagnosis seems to gain the fastest and best results.
Treatment
With most Bipolar treatment centers the first step is detox. All treatment centers for addiction will either have an in-house detox or one that they work with nearby. Bipolar Rehab Centers vary in size for the extremely large to the more intimate setting. These more private and intimate bipolar rehab centers are available to those who feel the need for a smaller setting to recover.
Once the physical dependency on drugs or alcohol has been handled the next step is addressing the underlying issues of the addiction.
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