Bipolar Disorder

5 Pages 1298 Words

Bipolar disorder is a real medical condition that affects two million people in the U.S. This disorder was also known as manic-depressive illness. It causes mood swings from feelings of extreme euphoria or irritability to hopelessness. In each of these episodes changes a person’s energy level, thought process, and behavior changes. This can last for hours, weeks, days or several months. This disorder causes problems with work, school, relationships, and can often lead to suicide.
In this disorder there are two poles: mania and depression. “Within the manic episode moods soar and minds race. There can be days with no sleep, and a vast overestimation of abilities. In the depressive episode there is feelings of fatigue, concentration is difficult, and there could be a loss of interest in activities. There are often cases of mixed episodes, in which the mania accompanies depression”(Comer, 2004). For each person the lengths of episodes are different, and patterns are not consistent. Episodes can last as long as hours or days, sometimes weeks or months. In most cases people will have a somewhat normal period called “eurthymia”. If a person has four or more manic or depressive episodes within twelve months, the disorder becomes more difficult to treat; this is called “rapid cycling”. Each of these two phases has separate symptoms. Along with the euphoric or irritability a person may have an increased sense of self-importance, racing thoughts, agitation or restlessness, and unwise involvement in pleasurable but potentially risky activities. These symptoms describe the manic stage. In its counterpart, depression, people often find themselves having feelings of guilt or worthlessness, along with sleep problems, changes in appetite, sleep problems, loss of energy and fatigue, and thoughts of death or suicide. These are a few symptoms of the cycling between manic and depressive episodes.
Doctors identify differe...