Print This Article Post Comment Add To Favorites Email to Friends Ezine Ready

Bipolar Disorder: Understand The Ups & Downs Of The Illness

By: Dr. Arturo Ovies Home | Health-and-Fitness


Many illnesses abound the world today. Before, people lived longer and with only a handful of illnesses. But today's times are very much different because of the many changes that take place.

The typical life of an individual begins as she wakes up in the morning. She then goes through her life everyday doing her routine activities. She goes to work, meet deadlines, attend meetings, and deals with different kinds of people. At home, she has to do chores, and spend time with the family. And not only that, she encounters different situations everyday that either she welcomes or resents. Many factors contribute to making an individual ill.

Persons suffering from Bipolar Disorder have to deal with such condition everyday of their life. Talking about it can be very embarrassing for some people but this should not be so since Bipolar Disorder can be managed especially if you know how to do it. I personally vouch for it. For many years, the condition was popularly called manic depression. But now, it is called bipolar because of the two extreme poles that make up the condition.

Episode

The episodes are divided into four types: Depression, Mania, Hypomania, and Mixed Mood. When a person feels depressed, he or she feels sad and don't want to do the usual things. Those that exhibit mania usually start having a high feeling, and become angry and irritable. They are the ones who tend to do risky things. The milder form is known as hypomania which can lead to either depression or mania; this episode also starts with feeling good and the person may think that more things are done. Others who have episodes with feelings of depression and mania mixed together is called mixed mood.

Symptoms are divided into two categories: Depression and Mania.

Depression symptoms include feelings of sadness, hopelessness, worthlessness, and guilt. These individuals sleep too much or too little and experience changes in appetite or weight. They always feel tired, restless, and can't make a sound decision. The worst case is when the person thinks about suicide and death.

Symptoms are divided into depression and mania. Depression symptoms include feelings of sadness, hopelessness, worthlessness, and guilt. These individuals sleep too much or too little and experience changes in appetite or weight. They always feel tired, restless, and can't make a sound decision. The worst case is when the person thinks about suicide and death. Mania symptoms include an increase in the level of energy, racing thoughts, sleeps less, easily distracted, more self-confident, more talkative, focused but accomplishes little, and often do extreme or unusual activities.

Types

The four main types of bipolar are the following:

1. Bipolar I - this type involves manic and mixed episodes, as well as major episodes of depression. The bipolar patient may experience more than one episode for several days, weeks, or even months. Seasonal changes also seem to affect the symptoms exhibited by the person.

2. Bipolar II - this involves major episodes of depression and a hypomania episode. Normal functioning can also take place in between the said episodes.

3. Cyclothymic Disorder - this is a fluctuating disturbance in mood with hypomania and depression episodes. This is considered the milder form since episodes do not occur regularly and happens for shorter and less severe times.

4. Not Specified - this is a treatable disorder and the symptoms exhibited by the individual does not fall into any of the three types mentioned; the disorder varies from one person to another.

There is no known cause of bipolar disorder. Some say that it has something to do with genetics. But that alone is not enough to cause such disorder. Perhaps other factors contribute to the disorder and that is why further studies are underway.

People from different races, ethnic groups, children, teenagers, or young/older adults can suffer from Bipolar Disorder. The brain cells of each individual don't work normally if there is an imbalance in the neurotransmitters. These are special chemicals that seem to be involved in the disorder.

If you think you're experiencing Bipolar symptoms, then you'd better check with your doctor as soon as possible.



Article Source: http://www.eArticlesOnline.com

About the Author:
Dr. Arturo Ovies is a Health Researcher who has dealt with Bipolar Disorder and Severe Clinical Depression since childhood. Over the past 5 years he has devoted his entire personal and professional life to research and teach about this debilitating mental illnesses. He has also written an easy and comprehensive guide to understand Bipolar Disorder

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Please Rate this Article

 

Not yet Rated

Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Health-and-Fitness Articles Via RSS!

Recent Related Articles From Health-and-Fitness

  • Bipolar Disorder Symptoms You Should Not Ignore
    By: avi | Mar 5th 2009
    As the numbers of people being diagnosed with bipolar disorder grows there are more and more people starting to worry that they or someone who is well known to them has the illness. However the problems start when these people do not actually know what bipolar disorder symptoms are and start to self diagnose. If you want to ... Read

  • How To Live With Bipolar Depression
    By: avi | Mar 5th 2009
    Depression can be incredibly hard to live with; it permeates every part of a person’s life and leaves them feeling very low and unable to cope with day to day life. Most people will have an encounter with depression during their life and most people cope with it and move on without any problems. For people with bipolar de ... Read

  • An Overview Of The Bipolar Depression Disorder
    By: MIKE SELVON | Sep 4th 2007
    Bipolar depression is different than many other types of depression. Read

  • The Symptoms Of Bipolar Depression
    By: John F. Davis | Apr 2nd 2009
    The bipolar disorder is characterized by the cyclic mood swings. As the name says, it swings the mood of the person in between the two extremes, elevation and depression. Bipolar disorder is caused by the imbalances in certain brain chemicals called neurotransmitters, which can be due to some genetic, biochemical or environ ... Read

  • Do You Suffer From Bipolar Depression Symptoms?
    By: Matt OConnor | Sep 19th 2006
    How to tell if a person is suffering from bipolar depression. Is it time society started to place more emphasis on health of the mind as it does the body? Read

  • Don't Take Bipolar Depression Lightly
    By: Riley Hendersen | Mar 5th 2007
    In order to help someone suffering from a depressive episode, it is important to recognize the signs that some suffering a phase of depression may be considering suicide. Along with knowing the signs of suicidal behavior, you should also know who to contact to help this person. Read

  • Bipolar Symptoms To Be Aware Of
    By: avi | Mar 5th 2009
    Bipolar disorder is a mood effecting illness that can be very problematic for those who suffer from it, and millions of people do. Many people do not even realise that the way they are feeling is actually a medical condition until the find out about bipolar symptoms and recognises that they are in fact bipolar. Here are the ... Read

  • Goal-setting Endeavors To Treat Bipolar Disorder (3)
    By: Stephen Lau | Sep 3rd 2008
    Bipolar depression requires medications. Do not give up bipolar medications simply because you have gained weight. Like an Olympic athlete, train yourself to cope with weight gain through exercise, diet, and discipline. Read

  • Being Bipolar †What Does It Mean?
    By: avi | Mar 5th 2009
    Being bipolar, or having bipolar disease is the name that is now given to what used to be called manic depression years ago. Millions of people all over the world have been diagnosed as being bipolar, or being on the bipolar spectrum †but many are unsure as to what this actually means. Bipolar disorder is known as a mood ... Read

  • Bipolar Treatment †What To Expect
    By: avi | Mar 5th 2009
    There has been a lot of controversy surrounding bipolar disorder and bipolar treatment that sufferers can expect to receive. One of the reasons for this is too many people feel equipped to talk about people who are bipolar without actually fully understanding the types of bipolar treatment that are available. In fact talk t ... Read


Copyright © 2005-2011 eArticlesOnline, LLC - All Rights Reserved
Terms of Service | Privacy Policy