Bi Polar? /?? ??wat is it?
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Don the Great
DonTheGreat
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Introduction
Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person's mood, energy, and ability to function. Different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through, the symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. They can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance, and even suicide. But there is good news: bipolar disorder can be treated, and people with this illness can lead full and productive lives.
About 5.7 million American adults or about 2.6 percent of the population age 18 and older in any given year,1 have bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder typically develops in late adolescence or early adulthood. However, some people have their first symptoms during childhood, and some develop them late in life. It is often not recognized as an illness, and people may suffer for years before it is properly diagnosed and treated. Like diabetes or heart disease, bipolar disorder is a long-term illness that must be carefully managed throughout a person's life.
"Manic-depression distorts moods and thoughts, incites dreadful behaviors, destroys the basis of rational thought, and too often erodes the desire and will to live. It is an illness that is biological in its origins, yet one that feels psychological in the experience of it; an illness that is unique in conferring advantage and pleasure, yet one that brings in its wake almost unendurable suffering and, not infrequently, suicide."
"I am fortunate that I have not died from my illness, fortunate in having received the best medical care available, and fortunate in having the friends, colleagues, and family that I do."
Kay Redfield Jamison, Ph.D., An Unquiet Mind, 1995, p. 6.
(Reprinted with permission from Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.)
What Are the Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder?
Bipolar disorder causes dramatic mood swings—from overly "high" and/or irritable to sad and hopeless, and then back again, often with periods of normal mood in between. Severe changes in energy and behavior go along with these changes in mood. The periods of highs and lows are called episodes of mania and depression.
Signs and symptoms of mania (or a manic episode) include:
Increased energy, activity, and restlessness
Excessively "high," overly good, euphoric mood
Extreme irritability
Racing thoughts and talking very fast, jumping from one idea to another
Distractibility, can't concentrate well
Little sleep needed
Unrealistic beliefs in one's abilities and powers
Poor judgment
Spending sprees
A lasting period of behavior that is different from usual
Increased sexual drive
Abuse of drugs, particularly cocaine, alcohol, and sleeping medications
Provocative, intrusive, or aggressive behavior
Denial that anything is wrong
A manic episode is diagnosed if elevated mood occurs with three or more of the other symptoms most of the day, nearly every day, for 1 week or longer. If the mood is irritable, four additional symptoms must be present.
Signs and symptoms of depression (or a depressive episode) include:
Lasting sad, anxious, or empty mood
Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism
Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness
Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed, including sex
Decreased energy, a feeling of fatigue or of being "slowed down"
Difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions
Restlessness or irritability
Sleeping too much, or can't sleep
Change in appetite and/or unintended weight loss or gain
Chronic pain or other persistent bodily symptoms that are not caused by physical illness or injury
Thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide attempts
A depressive episode is diagnosed if five or more of these symptoms last most of the day, nearly every day, for a period of 2 weeks or longer.
A mild to moderate level of mania is called hypomania. Hypomania may feel good to the person who experiences it and may even be associated with good functioning and enhanced productivity. Thus even when family and friends learn to recognize the mood swings as possible bipolar disorder, the person may deny that anything is wrong. Without proper treatment, however, hypomania can become severe mania in some people or can switch into depression.
Sometimes, severe episodes of mania or depression include symptoms of psychosis (or psychotic symptoms). Common psychotic symptoms are hallucinations (hearing, seeing, or otherwise sensing the presence of things not actually there) and delusions (false, strongly held beliefs not influenced by logical reasoning or explained by a person's usual cultural concepts). Psychotic symptoms in bipolar disorder tend to reflect the extreme mood state at the time. For example, delusions of grandiosity, such as believing one is the President or has special powers or wealth, may occur during mania; delusions of guilt or worthlessness, such as believing that one is ruined and penniless or has committed some terrible crime, may appear during depression. People with bipolar disorder who have these symptoms are sometimes incorrectly diagnosed as having schizophrenia, another severe mental illness.
It may be helpful to think of the various mood states in bipolar disorder as a spectrum or continuous range. At one end is severe depression, above which is moderate depression and then mild low mood, which many people call "the blues" when it is short-lived but is termed "dysthymia" when it is chronic. Then there is normal or balanced mood, above which comes hypomania (mild to moderate mania), and then severe mania.
In some people, however, symptoms of mania and depression may occur together in what is called a mixed bipolar state. Symptoms of a mixed state often include agitation, trouble sleeping, significant change in appetite, psychosis, and suicidal thinking. A person may have a very sad, hopeless mood while at the same time feeling extremely energized.
Bipolar disorder may appear to be a problem other than mental illness—for instance, alcohol or drug abuse, poor school or work performance, or strained interpersonal relationships. Such problems in fact may be signs of an underlying mood disorder.
Diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder
Like other mental illnesses, bipolar disorder cannot yet be identified physiologically—for example, through a blood test or a brain scan. Therefore, a diagnosis of bipolar disorder is made on the basis of symptoms, course of illness, and, when available, family history. The diagnostic criteria for bipolar disorder are described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV).2
Descriptions offered by people with bipolar disorder give valuable insights into the various mood states associated with the illness:
Depression: I doubt completely my ability to do anything well. It seems as though my mind has slowed down and burned out to the point of being virtually useless…. [I am] haunt[ed]… with the total, the desperate hopelessness of it all…. Others say, "It's only temporary, it will pass, you will get over it," but of course they haven't any idea of how I feel, although they are certain they do. If I can't feel, move, think or care, then what on earth is the point?
Hypomania: At first when I'm high, it's tremendous… ideas are fast… like shooting stars you follow until brighter ones appear…. All shyness disappears, the right words and gestures are suddenly there… uninteresting people, things become intensely interesting. Sensuality is pervasive, the desire to seduce and be seduced is irresistible. Your marrow is infused with unbelievable feelings of ease, power, well-being, omnipotence, euphoria… you can do anything… but, somewhere this changes.
Mania: The fast ideas become too fast and there are far too many… overwhelming confusion replaces clarity… you stop keeping up with it—memory goes. Infectious humor ceases to amuse. Your friends become frightened…. everything is now against the grain… you are irritable, angry, frightened, uncontrollable, and trapped.
Suicide
Some people with bipolar disorder become suicidal. Anyone who is thinking about committing suicide needs immediate attention, preferably from a mental health professional or a physician. Anyone who talks about suicide should be taken seriously. Risk for suicide appears to be higher earlier in the course of the illness. Therefore, recognizing bipolar disorder early and learning how best to manage it may decrease the risk of death by suicide.
Signs and symptoms that may accompany suicidal feelings include:
talking about feeling suicidal or wanting to die
feeling hopeless, that nothing will ever change or get better
feeling helpless, that nothing one does makes any difference
feeling like a burden to family and friends
abusing alcohol or drugs
putting affairs in order (e.g., organizing finances or giving away possessions to prepare for one's death)
writing a suicide note
putting oneself in harm's way, or in situations where there is a danger of being killed
If you are feeling suicidal or know someone who is:
call a doctor, emergency room, or 911 right away to get immediate help
make sure you, or the suicidal person, are not left alone
make sure that access is prevented to large amounts of medication, weapons, or other items that could be used for self-harm
While some suicide attempts are carefully planned over time, others are impulsive acts that have not been well thought out; thus, the final point in the box above may be a valuable long-term strategy for people with bipolar disorder. Either way, it is important to understand that suicidal feelings and actions are symptoms of an illness that can be treated. With proper treatment, suicidal feelings can be overcome.
What Is the Course of Bipolar Disorder?
Episodes of mania and depression typically recur across the life span. Between episodes, most people with bipolar disorder are free of symptoms, but as many as one-third of people have some residual symptoms. A small percentage of people experience chronic unremitting symptoms despite treatment.3
The classic form of the illness, which involves recurrent episodes of mania and depression, is called bipolar I disorder. Some people, however, never develop severe mania but instead experience milder episodes of hypomania that alternate with depression; this form of the illness is called bipolar II disorder. When four or more episodes of illness occur within a 12-month period, a person is said to have rapid-cycling bipolar disorder. Some people experience multiple episodes within a single week, or even within a single day. Rapid cycling tends to develop later in the course of illness and is more common among women than among men.
People with bipolar disorder can lead healthy and productive lives when the illness is effectively treated (see below—"How Is Bipolar Disorder Treated?"). Without treatment, however, the natural course of bipolar disorder tends to worsen. Over time a person may suffer more frequent (more rapid-cycling) and more severe manic and depressive episodes than those experienced when the illness first appeared.4 But in most cases, proper treatment can help reduce the frequency and severity of episodes and can help people with bipolar disorder maintain good quality of life.
Can Children and Adolescents Have Bipolar Disorder?
Both children and adolescents can develop bipolar disorder. It is more likely to affect the children of parents who have the illness.
Unlike many adults with bipolar disorder, whose episodes tend to be more clearly defined, children and young adolescents with the illness often experience very fast mood swings between depression and mania many times within a day.5 Children with mania are more likely to be irritable and prone to destructive tantrums than to be overly happy and elated. Mixed symptoms also are common in youths with bipolar disorder. Older adolescents who develop the illness may have more classic, adult-type episodes and symptoms.
Bipolar disorder in children and adolescents can be hard to tell apart from other problems that may occur in these age groups. For example, while irritability and aggressiveness can indicate bipolar disorder, they also can be symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, or other types of mental disorders more common among adults such as major depression or schizophrenia. Drug abuse also may lead to such symptoms.
For any illness, however, effective treatment depends on appropriate diagnosis. Children or adolescents with emotional and behavioral symptoms should be carefully evaluated by a mental health professional. Any child or adolescent who has suicidal feelings, talks about suicide, or attempts suicide should be taken seriously and should receive immediate help from a mental health specialist.
What Causes Bipolar Disorder?
Scientists are learning about the possible causes of bipolar disorder through several kinds of studies. Most scientists now agree that there is no single cause for bipolar disorder—rather, many factors act together to produce the illness.
Because bipolar disorder tends to run in families, researchers have been searching for specific genes—the microscopic "building blocks" of DNA inside all cells that influence how the body and mind work and grow—passed down through generations that may increase a person's chance of developing the illness. But genes are not the whole story. Studies of identical twins, who share all the same genes, indicate that both genes and other factors play a role in bipolar disorder. If bipolar disorder were caused entirely by genes, then the identical twin of someone with the illness would always develop the illness, and research has shown that this is not the case. But if one twin has bipolar disorder, the other twin is more likely to develop the illness than is another sibling.6
In addition, findings from gene research suggest that bipolar disorder, like other mental illnesses, does not occur because of a single gene.7 It appears likely that many different genes act together, and in combination with other factors of the person or the person's environment, to cause bipolar disorder. Finding these genes, each of which contributes only a small amount toward the vulnerability to bipolar disorder, has been extremely difficult. But scientists expect that the advanced research tools now being used will lead to these discoveries and to new and better treatments for bipolar disorder.
Brain-imaging studies are helping scientists learn what goes wrong in the brain to produce bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses.8,9 New brain-imaging techniques allow researchers to take pictures of the living brain at work, to examine its structure and activity, without the need for surgery or other invasive procedures. These techniques include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). There is evidence from imaging studies that the brains of people with bipolar disorder may differ from the brains of healthy individuals. As the differences are more clearly identified and defined through research, scientists will gain a better understanding of the underlying causes of the illness, and eventually may be able to predict which types of treatment will work most effectively.
How Is Bipolar Disorder Treated?
Most people with bipolar disorder—even those with the most severe forms—can achieve substantial stabilization of their mood swings and related symptoms with proper treatment.10,11,12 Because bipolar disorder is a recurrent illness, long-term preventive treatment is strongly recommended and almost always indicated. A strategy that combines medication and psychosocial treatment is optimal for managing the disorder over time.
In most cases, bipolar disorder is much better controlled if treatment is continuous than if it is on and off. But even when there are no breaks in treatment, mood changes can occur and should be reported immediately to your doctor. The doctor may be able to prevent a full-blown episode by making adjustments to the treatment plan. Working closely with the doctor and communicating openly about treatment concerns and options can make a difference in treatment effectiveness.
In addition, keeping a chart of daily mood symptoms, treatments, sleep patterns, and life events may help people with bipolar disorder and their families to better understand the illness. This chart also can help the doctor track and treat the illness most effectively.
source: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/Publicat/bipolar.cfm#intro
Other Answers:
Bi-polar people live above the arctic circle and have been known to have sex with either men or women. They are also know as Eskimo ho's.
Bipolar disorder (previously known as manic depression) is a diagnostic category describing a class of mood disorders in which the person experiences states or episodes of depression and/or mania, hypomania, and/or mixed states. Left untreated, it is a severely disabling psychiatric condition. The difference between bipolar disorder and unipolar disorder (also called major depression) — for the purpose of this introduction — is that bipolar disorder involves "energized" or "activated" mood states in addition to depressed mood states. The duration and intensity of mood states varies widely among people with the illness. Fluctuating from one mood state to another is called "cycling" or having mood swings. Mood swings cause impairment not only in one's mood, but also in one's energy level, sleep pattern, activity level, social rhythms and thinking abilities. Many people become fully disabled — for significant periods of time — and during this time have great difficulty functioning.
Bipolar disorder is a recurrent illness that involves long-term, drastic changes in mood. A person with bipolar disorder experiences alternating highs (mania) and lows (depression). A manic period can be brief, lasting from three to 14 days, or longer, lasting up to several weeks. The depressive periods may also last from days to weeks or even six to nine months. The periods of mania and depression range from person to person many people may only experience very brief periods of these intense moods, and may not even be aware that they have bipolar disorder.
The “highs” or manic episodes are characterized by extreme happiness, hyperactivity, little need for sleep and racing thoughts, which may lead to rapid speech. Symptoms of the “lows” or depressive periods include extreme sadness, a lack of energy or interest in things, an inability to enjoy normally pleasurable activities and feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. On average, someone with bipolar disorder has three years of normal mood between episodes of mania or depression.
Those with bipolar disorder often describe their experience as being on an emotional roller coaster. Cycling up and down between strong emotions can keep a person from functioning normally. The emotions, thoughts and behavior of a person with bipolar disorder are beyond his control friends, co-workers and family must intervene to protect his interests. This makes the condition exhausting not only for the sufferer, but for those in contact with him as well.
Bipolar disorder can create many difficulties. Manic episodes can lead to family conflict or financial problems, especially when the person with bipolar disorder appears to behave erratically and irresponsibly. During the manic phase, people often become impulsive and act aggressively. This can result in high-risk behavior, such as repeated intoxication, extravagant spending and risky sexual behavior.
During severe manic or depressed episodes, people with bipolar disorder may have symptoms that overwhelm their ability to deal with reality. This inability to distinguish reality from unreality results in psychotic symptoms such as hearing voices, paranoia, visual hallucinations, and false beliefs of special powers or identity. They may have distressing periods of great sadness alternating with euphoric optimism (a “natural high”) and/or rage that is not typical of the person during periods of wellness. These abrupt shifts of mood interfere with reason, logic and perception to such a drastic degree that those affected may be unaware of the need for help. However, if left untreated, bipolar disorder can seriously affect every aspect of a person’s life.
Identifying the first episode of mania or depression and receiving early treatment is essential to managing bipolar disorder. In most cases, a depressive episode occurs before a manic episode, and many patients are treated initially as if they have major depression. Usually, the first recognized episode of bipolar disorder is a manic episode. Once a manic episode occurs, it becomes clearer that the person is suffering from an illness characterized by alternating moods. Because of this difficulty with diagnosis, family history of similar illness and/or episodes is particularly important. Patients who first seek treatment as a result of a depressed episode may continue to be treated as someone with unipolar depression until a manic episode develops. Ironically, treatment of depressed bipolar patients with antidepressants can trigger a manic episode in some patients.
Bipolar disorder strikes about two million people in the United States. Both men and women are affected at the same rate. Differing rates of bipolar disorder have not been reported for different races. Although race was once considered a factor for developing bipolar disorder, it did not seem to have an effect when other factors such as socioeconomic status and age were taken into account. Lower socioeconomic status may be slightly linked to a higher rate of bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is more common in those who have a sibling or parent with the illness and in families having several generations affected with mood disorders.
The estimated average age for the onset of bipolar disorder is during the early 20s, although the illness may begin as early as when a child enters elementary school. In fact, the illness appears before age 20 in about one in five manic individuals.
Younger patients first may suffer cyclothymia. Although people with cyclothymia display less intense symptoms, nearly half of them will progress to having a full manic episode. Younger patients who have full manic episodes are called juvenile bipolar patients.
I have bi-polar too. Bi-polar is a mental illness where you go back and forth from being "manic" to being depressed. When your are "hypomanic," the lesser form of being "manic", you are very hyper, excitable, you may have racing thoughts, you don't think about the consequences of your actions, and you may do things you ordinarily wouldn't do like spend too much money or tell someone off without thinking. You may also have delusions. Some people also hit "manic" where people completely lose control of their actions and may actually black out or not remember what they have done. This doesn't happen to everyone who is bi-polar though. It's confusing, I know, but if you have been diagnosed bi-polar you at very least experience "hypomanic" and may or may not experience "manic."
Depression is just what it sounds like, you get sad, depressed, have little to no energy, feel emotionally numb, isolate and in severe cases can become suicidal.
The reason it is called bi-polar is, as I said before, you go back and forth from these "manic" episodes to "depressed" episodes. You may stay manic or depressed for hours, days, weeks, months, or years. For me, I will be manic for a period of time, come down into a short period of feeling "normal" then, I will hit the depressed side. Usually something happens to trigger a manic or depressed episode, you'll get upset, angry, etc.
Hope I helped, Angie
Knowing that it used to be called manic-depressive (mood swings) won't help you. See this page under bipolar for natural help for it. Plus uplifting story by a guy who had it worse than you.
http://phifoundation.org/heal.html
Well, to be perfectly honest with you. Bi-polar is self defined in its own name. Bi meaning dual or double and polar meaning extreme, outermost, magnetic, attracting.
I don't know if this is a diagnosis that any doctor would call right? but I have this in my family and have been diagnosed as having it myself. (But I believe they are all idiots to genaralize and also believe that it is the best that most of them can do.)
I also worked with mental health type medications and have seen many, many people who were diagnosed with this disorder (and others much worse) and being who I am, in that I am very observant of people and behaviors anyway (it is a hobby of mine) I noticed a few similarities between these particular people.
I believe (again opinion based on observation.) that these people aquired this disorder by both inherited traits and behaivors in family members and also as a result of them. I believe it comes from a strong sense of having been raised with duality, tension, stress and fear.
Like morals on the one hand and deception and deciet on the other as if one parent (or any kind of direct influence) was one way and the other was the total opposite.) I think it creates a extreme in the patient that is very hard to reconcile unless you totally dissasociate yourself from one or both influences and kind of start over. (Many diagnosed patients have shown documented improvement in their conditions after their main life influences pass away.)
I read once in a book by a motivational speaker by the name of Lou Tice, how everything we are as human beings from the moment we realize it, back to our earliest memories of childhood were all input and opinions derived of everything we have experienced so far.
When we realize that moment and take everything that we know that has been given to us by everyone else, and make a conscience CHOICE as to what we do and don't believe of the lot of it and what we do and don't consider our own personal reality; It is from that moment forward that we can begin to become our OWN creation, responsable and accountable for our own actions apart from the influences of the past and before that conscience moment of self actualization.
Doctors, I believe do not understand, because most of them have never experienced this feeling themselves. Doctors are taught to rationalize, to be outside of all of the conditions and symptoms of these diseases because they are taught that they have to be the level headed, the guru, the veda, the God to their patients lacking to be able to "Heal" them. Personally, I don't believe so much in healing as I do acceptance and learning to live with the fact that some people are different from the masses and hoards of zombies all walking in sameness in an even tone and shade of beige.
What Bi-polarity does, as in how it makes one behave, is that it floods the brain and the central nervous system with an overabundence or the chemicals it needs to kind of sort and deal with stimuli and experiences in every day life. So to someone who is Bi-polar, your highs are higher and your lows are lower and you naturally prefer the highs and do anything to keep them going, even to the detriment of your better sense of judgement to avoid the feeling of "falling off the edge of the world." as I like to call it, after the high begins to subside.
It basically is, a torment, a constancy of inconsistency, a dual natured beast and a sad way to have to live a life for some.
Bi-polar people have negative personality charastics like manipulative, habitual liars (about nothing for no reason other than to just do it usually.) compulsive with tendencies toward OCD which is obsessive compulsive disorder, and suicidal
tendencies during the down-swings of a manic episode when the brain fails to produce enough of the chemicals needed to balance itself, they are easily forgetfull and absent minded.
The good charastics are creativity, fast thought, fast learner, adaptable to change (where most people hate change) and quick witted and quite delightfull to be around when level and even. Everyone loves a bi-polar when they are in an upswing... they are always the life of the party and fun to be around.
The medication is SUPPOSED to level that difference out, but it in my opinion, changes you to a numb, hazy, zombie-like nothing. This condition called a cure, feels worse than the disease to someone who is manic or Bi-polar (which are quite similar) and most people who are Bi-polar will go off meds to avoid that medicated supposedly "Normal." feeling. Which to me at least, is far from normal.
Re-learning what "Normal" is should be the first step through realization, honesty, therapy and then if needed, the medication should be brough in to maintain that feeling of normalcy but just jumping into that medicated feeling will almost always assure a relapse. Most doctors do it *** backwards.
What is the answer? Well reconditioning is the only real answer. Someone who has this condition has it as a direct reslut of their lives, their experiences, their conditioning, their triggers and how they were taught to react toward stimuli and experience. The first step is to accept it and the only last step is to become totally self aware and self accepting and want to make it right. Honesty... is the cure!
I have come to believe that all of these tendencies I have are what make me unique and when I can control these flux's and crux's in my personality and level out my own chemical brain rush and ebb and flow then I can live happily with who and what I am, AS I am. But suicidal thoughts are no joking matter and you have to learn to want to live through it and ask for help when you feel that bad... otherwise you wont survive it.
Hope that helps? Good luck darlin. Remember always... you are you and that... is a good thing to be!
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