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| Bipolar Research Library - Bipolar Research Library Index |
Bipolar Disorder or Bipolar Affective Disorder
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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.
More than 2 million American adults, or about 1 percent
of the population age 18 and older in any given year,
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.
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 3 or more of the other symptoms most of the day,
nearly every day, for 1 week or longer. If the mood
is irritable, 4 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 5 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.
Medical Abstacts Library
The focus of the medical abstracts library is to post
information and current research regarding the disorder,
known drug reactions, general and specific nutritional
interventions.
Bipolar Disorder Morbidity
and Mortality
Bipolar Disorder and General
Nutrition
Bipolar Disorder and known
Drug Reactions/Interactions
Bipolar Disorder and Specific
Nutrient Interventions
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