Understanding Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder results in a person having unusual changes in moods and energy. It is also referred to as manic-depressive illness. This disease is a challenging disease as the victim may fail to recognize that something is wrong. The mood changes are likely to be noticed by other people than by the individual. Mood swings are usually persistent and can occur almost every day in a week or at least most of the days. They are also accompanied by dramatic behaviours such as fantasy in the belief of what one can do. This disorder is highly confused with the anxiety disorder that is another brain disorder as they share most of the symptoms. The major difference is that anxiety disorder is majorly characterised by episodes of continued anxiety and panic for no good reason. These two symptoms are not present for bipolar disorder. The good news is that both of these illnesses are treatable.

Symptoms of bipolar disorder

The symptoms are behavioural or emotional. The illness is majorly characterised by significant drifts in moods. This is usually coupled with natural irritability at even very minor issues. The victims also tend to be very provocative and at such a moment they can do things that are regrettable. Very high speed of thought is another symptom. This can manifest through increased speech and talk about many issues at the same time. Such patients also suffer from severe distractibility. Their level of concentration is usually very low, and they also experience moments of poor judgement. Another very common symptom of this disorder is severe insomnia. Victims feel that they don’t want to sleep and if they do it is just a little sleep. A feeling of increased energy is another common symptom. This is usually presented in increased levels of activity in the patients. Such patients will also tend to abuse drugs mainly cocaine, alcohol and pills that induce sleep.

Treatment and Prevention

The most basic treatment is medication that is readily available. This can be supplemented by counselling therapy. To prevent the occurrence of this illness, medics advise that we exercise regularly and ensure that we have adequate time for sleeping. Right diet and frequent check of one’s mood also help in recognizing any drift. Avoiding stress or finding healthy ways to manage it is also critical. Social support is also of much importance especially to the patient mostly because such patients will always deny that something is wrong with them.