Bipolar Disorder: A disorder that speaks twice.
Some anxious evenings pass, just to be stirred with musings that fill you with fear. The minute you were content with your life, before long must be blurred
with disillusionment and abhor. You feel as if there are two, the one that makes you euphoric to where human usefulness is lost, and the other, the darker side where it appears that you have no hope left. This is the disorder that speaks twice, manic depression.
Most commonly known as bipolar disorder. This condition is the venturing stone into numerous other emotional wellness issues, subsequently it is crucial to comprehend the profundity of this issue and by expansion its association with oneself and the admonition indications of this issue. This can be as regular as 3 million cases for each year, and an expected 500,000 cases go unreported because of the disgrace that is reflected from its scandalous name. This disgrace leaves a great number of individuals who may profit by the assistance of treatment, for example, medicine and therapy. The disorder claims many innocent lives and with the help of the treatment combined with early recognition of this disorder can alter the way that it affects the host.
What is it?
Bipolar Disorder, or Manic Depression, is a condition that causes outrageous highs and lows in an individual’s state of mind. It is a mental health disorder that brings upon fluctuated states of mind or even changes in somebody’s sleep cycle, vitality, and proficiency as an individual. Individuals who have bipolar confusion can have periods in which they feel excessively cheerful and stimulated and different times of feeling dismal, sad, and slow. In the middle of those periods, for the most part they feel typical. You can think about the highs and the lows as two “poles” of mood, which is the reason it’s designated “bipolar” scatter. “Manic” depicts the occasions when somebody with bipolar turmoil feels excessively energized and certain. These emotions can likewise include fractiousness and hasty or crazy dynamic. About a portion of individuals during craziness can likewise have delusions (accepting things that aren’t valid and that they can’t be talked out of) or hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that aren’t there). “Depressive” portrays the occasions when the individual feels miserable or discouraged. Those manifestations are equivalent to those depicted in significant burdensome issues or “clinical depression.” This will generally be more typical than manic scenes.
What causes it?
Bipolar disorder is caused by a variety of factors including: brain chemical imbalances, hormonal problems, and environmental factors. New studies are finding a link to genetics and epigenetics as a cause of bipolar disorder. Brain chemical imbalances refers to the neurotransmitters in the brain sending out wrong chemical signals or parts of the brain interpreting them wrong. This wrong stimuli tend to be the cause for many mood disorders. Three specific chemicals that scientists have connected the brain imbalance to are dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. These three chemicals produced in the brain help with emotional wellbeing, social behavior plus sleep, and a flight or fight response in the body respectively. When too little or too much of these hormones are released in fluctuations someone may be showing signs of bipolar disorder. These chemical outputs are now being researched further to find a connection between genetics, traits passed down from generation to generation. Also epigenetics, the programmed methylation of genes that pass down due to a sedentary lifestyle. These hormones can be triggered by other hormones, such as some produced by the thyroid can trigger depression when too low and manic episodes when too high. Environmental factors such as abuse or mental stress can trigger a stimulus for bipolar disorder. If one has gone through a difficult traumatic event, that may be the trigger that causes someone to show signs that have not been seen before..
Signs and Symptoms:
Signs and symptoms can be divided loosely into six categories: mood, behavioral, cognitive, psychological, weight, and sleep. Below you will find a chart outlining all the symptoms and signs of bipolar disorder.
Mood
Anger, anxiety, apathy, apprehension, elevated mood, euphoria, general discontent, guilt, hopelessness, loss of interest, mood swings, or loss of interest or pleasure in activities, sadness
Behavioral
Aggression, agitation, crying, disorganized behavior, lust, hyperactivity, impulsivity, irritability,or self-harm, restlessness, risk taking behaviors
Cognitive
Delusion, lack of concentration, or false belief of superiority, racing thoughts, slowness in activity, unwanted thoughts
Psychological
Agitated depression, depression, manic episode, or paranoia
Weight
Loss or gain of significant weight
Sleep
Any significant disruption to sleep cycle
How it feels:
Many people often question to the extent that these mood shifts feel, can it really be that severe? This seems to start the stigma around bipolar disorder: the miscommunication of the severity. Many people recently have been coming out about the feeling of the stages of mood swings. In the following excerpt a young man will describe the feeling of a mania episode compared to his depressive episode:
“The mania part is awesome. I have tons of energy and don’t want to stop. The best part of mania is that I’m so optimistic about everything. You could crash a car through my house and I’d reply, “What a great time to build something new!” I’m my most creative during this process, so I’m doing as much as possible to capitalize on it. Artistic or constructive, I’m up for anything.
I have the most fun running around and entertaining people, making them laugh, and acting like a big clown. I get a lot of satisfaction from the laughs and smiles I can get out of people. It makes me feel invincible,” (Healthline).
“When I’m depressed, I want to be left alone. It’s not that I want to be by myself; I want everyone to disappear. I don’t want to go anywhere, see anyone, or do anything. It’s like no matter what I do, people are telling me I’m doing something wrong. So, the easiest way to feel better is to hide. Seeing all those people carrying on, living their happy little lives is an annoying reminder of my bipolar disorder and how I’ll never have that kind of stability. What’s worse is hearing all the people I “entertain” while in my mania talk about how quiet I am and that I’m not entertaining. Do they try to cheer me up, or do something to make me laugh? No. They just want their clown back. It’s annoying” (Healthline).
Treatment:
There is no cure for bipolar disorder today, however there are many managing techniques to cope with the reality of these mood changes. These include: psychotherapy, medications, self-management strategies, and complementary health approaches. Psychotherapy consists of cognitive behavior therapy, which helps one understand their disorder and how to function with it, and family-focused therapy, which targets loved ones that have been affected by rash decisions during the manic or depression stages. Medications can be a mix of mood stabilizers, antipsychotic medicine, and a smaller extent of antidepressants. They help regulate and manage hormone levels and chemical impulses in the brain. Self-management strategies tend to be a compilation of different educational courses to find triggers and to catch yourself in a pole of this disorder and squeeze your way out. Finally, complementary health approaches work in harmony to create better mental health all around for the patient: such as aerobic exercise, meditation and in such cases faith and prayer.
Stigma:
In recent years , the stigma around bipolar disorder has only increased. There has always been a stigma around mental illness since archaic times, starting with theories of the devils’ work, and it has blossomed to an idea that therapy in modern society is seen for the weak. Yet, for bipolar disorder it stands out from other mental health issues because it stands as a fluctuation between two extremes rather than one extreme. Some even state that the stigma and discrimatantion faced can go as far as being fired from jobs, to even doctors thinking they are on disability. Others state that people tend to trivialize it saying that they can just easily pull themselves out of this seemingly endless cycle. A college student, diagnosed when 12 or 13 spoke out about the stigma she faced as a bipolar rather than a MDD. “It was difficult enough explaining that no, I can’t just “get over’’ my sadness, that no, I can’t just “relax” about the things I agonize over, that no, I’m not just lazy, or too high strung, etc. without having to explain that my disorder isn’t going to make me hurt anyone. Our society is just now beginning to understand the struggles that all of us with mental illness face, and is still inexcusably harsh on people for symptoms of which they have no control over’’ (NAMI). She goes on to speak that she has been a scapegoat for all the troubles that any school, class, or even workplace faced since she was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), yet it only seemed to be getting worse after her diagnosis of bipolar disorder. As a society, it is vital that we shatter the stigma surrounding bipolar disorder, because numerous presumptive cases stay unnoticed because of shame or fear from peers or society. When left ignored for a while, in many cases it leads to suicidal thoughts.
Facts and Statistics:
Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that should be taken very seriously as it claims numerous lives a year. Below you will find facts and statistics about the prevalence of bipolar disorder in the United States.
As observed through this investigation of bipolar disorder, mental health is intense and influences a great many individuals yearly. It causes enormous changes in temperament and how one would see everything in their life in waves. This can likewise influence groups of friends and family significantly. Together, as a general public we ought to acknowledge this dysfunctional behavior as a grasped piece of society, it genuinely makes individuals one of a kind from each other. Bipolar disorder can be a venturing stone into major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, and even multiple personality disorder. It is significant that as a general public we should stand together against loath and shame encompassing psychological sickness. Since they would be dealt with equivalent to some other ailment, similar to diabetes. Aspiring clinical professionals should comprehend the significance of understanding the hardship and disturbance that might be brought about by psychological instability in a patient’s life. Together, we would all be able to face the numbness that has been developing since ancient times for psychological sickness. Discover how you can join the cause!
Works Cited
Bipolar Disorder. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Mental-Health-Conditions/Bipolar-Disorder
Bipolar disorder. (2018, January 31). Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bipolar-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20355955?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=abstract&utm_content=Bipolar-disorder&utm_campaign=Knowledge-panel
Bipolar Disorder Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.dbsalliance.org/education/bipolar-disorder/bipolar-disorder-statistics/
Howard, G. (2017, November 20). Living With the Stigma of Bipolar. Retrieved from https://www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/features/blog-bipolar-face-stigma#1
In Their Shoes: Understanding What Bipolar Disorder Feels Like. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/bipolar-disorder/what-bipolar-feels-like
Personal Stories. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.nami.org/Personal-Stories/Bipolar-Disorder-and-Stigma
