BIPOLAR DISORDER

Bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder

Introduction

Abnormal Psychology Bipolar Disorder-Facts and Studies Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person mood, energy, and ability to function. Different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through, the symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. (Levine 1978) They can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance, and even suicide. However it can be treated, and people with this illness can lead productive lives.

Manic-depression distorts moods and thoughts, incites dreadful behaviors, destroys the basis of rational thought, and too often erodes the desire and will to live.(American Psychiatric Association 2000)It is an illness that is biological in its origins, yet one that feels psychological in the experience of it; an illness that is unique in conferring advantage and pleasure, yet one that brings in its wake almost unendurable suffering and, not infrequently, suicide.

Bipolar disorder causes dramatic mood swings from overly high or irritable to sad and hopeless, and then back again, often with periods of normal mood in between. Severe changes in energy and behavior go along with these changes in mood. The periods of highs and lows are called episodes of mania and depression. A manic or depressive episode is diagnosed if symptoms occur with at least three other symptoms, nearly every day, for at least a week.

Some signs and symptoms of mania, also known as manic episodes include: Increased energy, excessively high, euphoric moods, extreme irritability, racing thoughts and fast speech, lack of concentration, lack of sleep, unrealistic beliefs in one's abilities and powers, poor judgment, spending sprees, or increased sexual drive.

Symptoms of depression or a depressive episode can include a lasting sad or empty mood, feelings of hopelessness and guilt, loss of interest or pleasure in activities, a low sexual drive, fatigue, difficulty concentrating and decision making, weight loss or gain, or thoughts of death and suicide. Sometimes, severe episodes of mania or depression include symptoms of psychosis. (World Health Organization 1979) Common psychotic symptoms are hallucinations -hearing, seeing, or otherwise sensing the presence of things not actually there and delusions -false, strongly held beliefs not influenced by logical reasoning or explained by a person's usual cultural concepts. Psychotic symptoms in bipolar disorder tend to reflect the extreme mood state at the time. For example, delusions of grandiosity, such as believing one is the President or has special powers or wealth, may occur during mania; delusions of guilt or worthlessness, such as believing that one is ruined and penniless or has committed some terrible crime, may appear during depression. People with bipolar disorder who have these symptoms are sometimes incorrectly diagnosed as having schizophrenia, another severe mental illness.

Various mood states in bipolar disorder range on a spectrum of high and low moods. At one end is severe depression, above which is moderate depression and then mild low mood, which many people call "the blues" when it is short lived but is termed "dysthymia" when it is ...