Bipolar Disorder - Understand the illness
Bipolar Disorder (also called manic-depression), is a serious but treatable medical illness. It is a medical illness of the brain which causes extreme changes in mood, energy, thinking, and behavior. Symptoms may be present in the early childhood years, or many suddenly develop in adolescents, or not until adulthood. Bipolar Disorder affects an estimated 1-2 percent of adults worldwide.
In most adults with Bipolar disorder, a time of agitation mixed with high energy levels is called mania. On the more negative side, irritability, despair, and fatigue symptoms cause depression which can lead to suicidal tendencies. Every individual with Bipolar disorder has a unique cycle of mixed mood patterns; most people can predict the pattern once it has been identified.
The illness tends to be genetic, although studies show it can skip generations. When one parent has bipolar disorder, a child’s risk of being affected is 15-25 percent. There is a much higher risk of children inheriting the condition if both parents are affected; the percentage rises to a 50-75 percent for children. Bipolar disorder tends to run in families, and studies show strong evidence that it is inherited. Although genetic research has been done, information associated with the disease has yet to be discovered. Left untreated, dramatic mood swings have caused marital failure, job loss, alcoholism, even result in suicide. There is effective, medical treatment available for people with a bipolar disorder diagnosis. The medication, lithium, achieved positive results when used in helping to stabilize mania, and the prevention of both manic and depressive phases that occur with bipolar disorder. Although a lifetime illness, it is treatable. A treatment plan will include medication, close monitoring of symptoms, education about the illness, and possibly counseling.
There are two main classifications of bipolar disorder. The first type is called Bipolar 1. In these cases, alternating episodes of intense mania and depression occur along with periods of relative wellness. A few symptoms of mania are seen as periods of rapid speech, poor judgment, and a decreased need for sleep. Depression can be recognized in a significant change in appetite, crying spells, and suicidal thoughts. The second is called Bipolar 11. This is different in that people will experience Hypomania between recurrent depression. Hypomania is an elevated mood accompanied with increased mental and physical energy. This can be a time of great creativity.
Many famous and accomplished people had symptoms of the illness. The list includes; Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Theodore Roosevelt, Handel, Tolstoy and Hemingway. The biographies of Ludwig Beethoven and Charles Dickens indicate that they suffered from severe and reoccurring mood swings beginning in early childhood.