How do You Know If You have Bipolar Disorder?

Do you have bipolar disorder?

Have you ever felt as if you were 20 energy drinks and 4 cups of coffee and have so much energy that you can not sleep or even keep your thoughts clear, without actually drinking any? What is bipolar disorder?

Bipolar disorder is classified as severe mood swings, from manic depression.

Mania: A person who mania may feel immortal or full of energy. Hypomania: A milder form of mania called hypomania is the people can experience the same symptoms without the negative effect on their daily lives. In many cases, lack of sleep and motivation to do everything to get them once ahead at work or school.

Depression: A person suffering from depression may feel sad if they start crying for no reason or so guilty for things that are not even not concern them. Depression is an episode much more likely to occur than a manic mood, making it even more dangerous.

Mixed: A person who mixed the episode feel depressed or severely saddened to have enough energy to run a triathlon. This episode can influence the habits of appetite or someone sleep. The mixed episode is much rarer in many cases of bipolar disorder.

The causes of bipolar disorder

The causes of bipolar disorder are not certain. The first is considered a chemical imbalance in the brain, which is controlled by neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine, a stress hormone, which contributes to a bipolar disorder. When these levels are too high, mania is the result. When these levels are abnormally low, depression is the result.


Another key factor to determine the cause of bipolar disorder is genetic. If a person has a family history of bipolar disorder, which may be at risk. The biggest risk is the identical twin of a person with bipolar disorder. In other cases, a large amount of stress (mainly emotional), drug use, and no association with bipolar disorder disease can trigger the onset of an episode.

The image above shows three different scans of the brain. The upper brain is a "normal" or "normal". There are moderate activity levels. The second is a hypomanic brain scan, or a person who lives hypomania. The bottom is a depressed brain scan showing reduced levels of brain activity.

Not everyone with severe mood swings or severe changes in personality a person has bipolar disorder. Many other psychiatric conditions mimic bipolar disorder, such as panic disorder it, phobias, substance abuse, attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), schizoaffective disorder or schizophrenia.

2 types of bipolar disorder

• Bipolar I is defined by episodes of mania or mixed at least the last seven days. Most often the person also has depressive episodes, typically lasting at least two weeks. These episodes are not relevant to any change in the person's life, which means that symptoms should be a radical change in the behavior of one, not a change in your lifestyle to make them feel manic or depressive .

• Bipolar II is very different from what I was bipolar, is defined by episodes of mild depression changing back and forth with hypomania. This means there are no extreme manic behavior, as hypomania, a less severe manic episode.

Risk factors

The greatest risk factor when one has bipolar disorder is substance abuse. Those mixed episodes are at higher risk of substance abuse, because the need for balanced feel are not satisfied and they do something to make the mixed emotions stop. Some medications that are considered "downers" help relieve the symptoms of an episode, just to create more problems later. For example, when a person goes through a bout of depression, drugs like methamphetamine and cocaine send to a manic episode, often followed by severe depression and other psychotic symptoms while alcohol and tranquilizers send an episode of depression.

Anyone with bipolar disorder diagnosed person who uses drugs should be more cautious. It is desirable that those associated with a person with bipolar disorder see this as their cry for help and help in the treatment as soon as possible.

Triggers Episodes
• Stress is the main trigger for offsetting an episode. This can be a positive or negative change in someone's life such as moving, getting fired, marry, or divorce. If significant changes occur in the life of a person with bipolar disorder, care and support may be needed to ensure a successful transition.

• As noted, drug addiction is a major trigger for an episode. While some with bipolar disorder may choose to turn to drugs to "cure" themselves, some may already suffer from addiction. Drugs like cocaine or ecstasy may send them to a manic episode while depressants such as alcohol can send them to a bout of depression.

Treatments for Bipolar Disorder
Although there is no cure for bipolar disorder, however, there are several ways to treat symptoms and prevent episodes. More help begins when medical treatment is adopted. There are many forms of counseling available, group counseling for individual advice. Cognitive therapy teaches the individual how to understand their disorder and how to make changes in your life through thought patterns and behavior. If a person with bipolar disorder work 60 hours a week and goes to the bar to feel better every day after work, the cognitive therapist would see this as a way for an episode of depression and help the individual to see and change this behavior. Family therapy has also proven to be a strong way to support their families suffering from this disorder. For many people with bipolar disorder, they feel alone and hopeless. When family or friends show that they are not alone and want to help them understand and cope with their illness, support shows to improve their chances of a better life. These therapies help when the person needs help. The drugs are also proven to be a good treatment for those who suffer from bipolar disorder. Lithium is the most common treatment for bipolar disorder. Lithium is essentially sodium. Sodium affects excitation or mania, lithium helps stabilize the lithium flow through your body. Although lithium has been used for years, half of the people who have bipolar disorder and take lithium do not respond. It is an antipsychotic drug that works by modifying the action of chemicals in the brain. While it has been shown to help antidepressant medications must be taken with a mood stabilizer medication during depressive episodes since mania trigger.

All drugs have side effects depending on the chemistry of the body of a person; some side effects may be more severe than others.