Diagnosis and Treatment
Bipolar disorder is defined as a person who has times in their life of depression, as well as times of being extremely happy. Individuals with bipolar disorder will have extreme times of cross as well as times of being irritable. Although they do not know an exact cause at this time for bipolar disorders, they believe that it starts between the ages of 15 and 25. They believe that some of the triggers that cause these periods are childbirth, certain medicines, the inability to sleep, as well as recreational drug use. Now when it comes to the symptoms they differ from each other. For instance when an individual is going through their period of time where they are going through what is called the manic phase of the disorder the possible symptoms are: being easily distracted, less amounts of sleep needed, higher involvement in the activities going on in their life, moods are elevated as well as expansive and irritable, their thoughts race, talkative, a false belief in themselves as well as their abilities, the individual is irresponsible when it comes to drinking, the use of recreational drugs, and sexual partners. The individual also show signs of poor judgment as well as poor temper control. Now when an individual is going through what is called their depressive periods, their symptoms they might show are: their moods are low and sad, difficulty in concentrating on a task, difficulty in remembering day to day things as well as making a decision, eating problems, no energy, the feeling that they as an individual is worthless and or hopeless, and the inability to feel pleasure in activities the individual use to enjoy.
For a professional to diagnose bipolar disorder, they will ask if the individual if any of their members of the individual’s family have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and will also ask about their mood swings and how long they have had them. The professional will perform an exam, and blood work to make sure that it is not any other possible illness that is showing the same symptoms as bipolar. The professional will also ask about any health problems or medications that an individual is taking and watch an individuals’ behavior and moods. As for the individual it would be helpful to the professional to talk to the individuals’ family members about the individuals’ symptoms and overall health.
When it comes to the treatment of bipolar disorder the goals are to make the periods of extreme highs and extreme lows are less frequent as well as helping them to be less severe, to help the individual to start enjoying their life at work and at home, as well as to prevent the individual from self-harm as well as suicide. One form of bipolar disorder treatment is medication. The medication is referred to as mood stabilizers and are used to help the individual avoid their extreme highs and extreme lows. Other medications that could be tried as well are