Bipolar disorder is a psychiatric condition that was known before as manic depressive disorder. The main symptom involves swings between moods of mania (or hyperactivity) and depression.
It usually occurs by 30 years of age, in both men and women. The disorder seems to run in some families. It affects as many as 10 million individuals in the United States.
The cause is unknown. Stress, drug or alcohol abuse, and use of some prescription drugs may increase the risk.
People in the manic mood feel full of energy and happy. They need less sleep. Speech and thoughts race. Self-esteem is high. Overeating is common. People can have poor judgment and make reckless choices. Manic people can also hear voices or see things that aren’t there. Some people do things like clean the house to burn energy.
In a depressed mood, people have less energy, feel sad and cry for no reason, sleep too much or have trouble falling asleep, lose pleasure in life, eat less, and struggle with feelings of worthlessness. Depression may lead to thoughts of death or suicide.
Bipolar disorder often occurs in cycles—an episode once a month, once a week, once a year, once a season, or as often as once a day.
The health care provider makes the diagnosis after an examination and asking about symptoms. The health care provider may order blood tests or other medical tests to make sure another illness isn’t causing the symptoms. Your health care provider will refer you to a specialist (psychiatrist) for additional evaluation if bipolar disorder is suspected.
Bipolar disorder is treatable but not curable. Medicine (lithium) is the usual treatment to help even out moods. Some people may need to take lithium for a lifetime, but it isn’t addictive. Other medications such as valproate, carbamazepine, olanzapine, risperidone, and quetiapine are also frequently used. Continuous treatment is necessary to prevent relapse of depressive or manic symptoms.
People are often referred to a psychiatrist or for group therapy. Therapists can help people change behaviors that may make the illness worse.
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Copyright © 2016 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc.
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