Determine what is going crazy. Five reasons for insanity, according to Tibetan medicine. Is Madness Treated

Bipolar disorder is a complex mental illness characterized by frequent mood swings, lack or excess of energy and vitality. It leads to a loss of productivity in studies or professional activities.

In bipolar disorder, a change in the phases of depression, mania, and hypermania occurs. In this case, there are no changes in the human psyche.

This disease is mainly diagnosed in men and women from 20 to 30 years old, with an advantage in women. Having appeared, the disorder begins to actively develop and can become chronic. If he is not noticed in time and treatment is not started, then it will be possible to ascertain in a person simply a phase change without periods of a normal state. The consequences of chronic deep illness can be irreversible.

Bipolar disorder can occur in older people, and in children and adolescents.

Among the causes of the disorder, it is customary to distinguish biological and psychosocial.

• Biological reasons

Biological causes include forms of hereditary predisposition. Bipolar disorder is observed in people with a specific set of genes. Also inherited are the possibilities of imbalance in neurotransmitters (dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine). These findings are based on studies confirming an increase in neurotransmitters during episodes of the disorder. Another factor influencing the occurrence of bipolar disorder is a violation of the proper functioning of systems that include interaction: the hypothalamus - pituitary gland - thyroid gland - adrenal glands.

It must be recognized that the true causes of bipolar disorder are not fully understood. Recently, scientists have made several discoveries regarding the genetics and inheritance of the disease:

- in families where there have been cases of bipolar disorder, there has been an increase in cases of psychosis and disorders;

- the closer the relationship to the patient, the higher the risk of the disease in a family member;

- unipolar disorders do not turn into bipolar disorders and vice versa;

- the presence of a bipolar relative does not indicate the inevitability of the disease in other family members;

- the risk of a child developing a disease often depends on the age of the parents: the elderly age of the father at the time of conception increases the likelihood of gene mutations in the child.

• Effect and medication

Also revealed are the effects of drugs and ov on receptors of nerve cells. The doctor notes the occurrence of bipolar disorder in cases of treatment of other mental disorders.

• Physiological features of the body

The causes of bipolar disorder may also lie in the plane of disturbances in the metabolism of biogenic amines, endocrine systems, and water-salt balance. The problem is that it is quite difficult to identify these features in a person in order to understand the cause of the disorder and begin treatment. And sometimes it’s simply impossible.

• Psychosocial (environmental) causes

Psychosocial causes include manic depressive disorders, which are a manifestation of protective forces in severe stressful situations. Human activity can be explained by an attempt by the body to isolate a traumatic event from life. When at the same time the defensive forces of mania begin to be lost and disintegrate, depression begins to appear. In the future, protective forces can again be activated, which indicate the need for protection from one's own inferiority. It is important to know that stress can activate the initial stage of the disease. And if you do not start immediate treatment, then the disease can begin to progress independently, regardless of the presence or absence of stress.

Life events, especially childhood injuries, can cause genetic disorders. In addition, negative events occurring with a person who had in the past can cause relapses of the disease with increased symptoms.

In children, bipolar disorder can cause interpersonal disorder or violence.

The disease in the vast majority of people begins with an episode of depression (70%), and only 30% of patients report an episode of mania as the onset of the disease. However, before the depression itself, frequent mood changes are observed.

Bipolar disorder is characterized by a change in three phases:

1 phase: manic. During this period, a person is overcome by a large number of thoughts and actions that replace each other at a fast pace. At the same time, clear thoughts can be replaced by confused, and logical actions are completely inexplicable. Due to a series of events, the patient develops anger, timidity, irritability.

Bipolar disorder  - a mental illness characterized by a person’s tendency to alternate between depressive episodes and manic episodes.

In this article I will explain your symptoms, causes, treatment, diagnosis, consequences and much more.

Content:

What is bipolar disorder?

Bipolar disorder, also known as bipolar affective disorder (BAA) and earlier as manic-depressive psychosis (PMD). It is a set of mood disorders characterized by noticeable fluctuations in mood, thinking, behavior, energy and the ability to perform daily activities.

A person suffering from this disorder alternates his state of mind between mania or hypomania - a phase of joy, exaltation, euphoria and grandeur and depression, with sadness, inhibition, and ideas of death.

Four types of bipolar disorder were identified by severity and alternation of mood over time:

• Type I Bipolar Disorder
• Type II bipolar disorder
• Cyclothymia
• Nonspecific Bipolar Disorder

Since bipolar disorder occurs in young people, it carries high social costs. This is the second cause of disability worldwide. In addition, those who suffer from this pose a higher risk than the population as a result of suicides, homicides, accidents and natural causes such as cardiovascular disease.

In type 1, a person alternates between depressive episodes with full manic episodes, and in type 2, he alternates between depressive episodes and hypomanic (less severe) episodes.

Symptoms of this disorder are severe, different from normal ups and downs of mood. These symptoms can lead to problems in personal relationships, at work, at school, or even suicide.

During the depression phase, a person may experience:

• Negative perception of life.
• Inability to feel the pleasure of life.
• Lack of energy
• Self-criticism.
• In extreme cases, suicide.

During the manic phase, a person may experience:

• Denial that there is a problem.
• A sharp change of mood.
• Irrational financial decisions.
• Feeling very enthusiastic
• Do not think about the consequences of their actions.
• Lack of sleep

Although there are cases of occurrence in childhood, the normal age of onset of type 1 is 18 years, and for type 2 - 22 years.

About 10% of cases of bipolar disorder 2 develop and become type 1.

Although the reasons are not clear, genetic and environmental factors (stress, abuse in childhood) influence.

Treatment usually includes psychotherapy, drug treatment, sometimes electroconvulsive therapy may be useful.

Video: Veronika Stepanova “Bipolar affective disorder, MDP, psychotherapy”

Symptoms of Depressive Episodes

Signs and symptoms of the depressive phase of bipolar disorder include:

• Persistent sadness
• Lack of interest in engaging in enjoyable activities.
• Apathy or indifference.
• Anxiety or social anxiety.
• Chronic pain or irritability.
• Lack of motivation
• Guilt, hopelessness, social isolation.
• Lack of sleep or appetite.
• Suicidal thoughts
• In extreme cases, there may be psychotic symptoms: delusions or hallucinations are usually unpleasant.

Manic symptoms

Mania can occur in varying degrees:

Hypomania

This is the least severe degree of mania and lasts at least 4 days. This does not lead to a noticeable decrease in a person’s ability to work, communicate or adapt.

It also does not require hospitalization and does not have psychotic characteristics.

In fact, overall functioning may improve during a hypomanic episode and is considered a natural mechanism against depression.

If the event of hypomania is not accompanied or precedes depressive episodes, this is not considered a problem if this state of mind cannot be controlled.

Symptoms can last from a few weeks to several months.

It is characterized by:

• Great energy and activity.
• Some people may have more creativity, while others may be more annoying.
• A person can feel so good that he denies that he is experiencing a state of hypomania.

Mania

Mania - a period of euphoria and high mood for at least 7 days. If left untreated, an episode of mania can last from 3 to 6 months.

It is characterized by the display of three or more of the following types of behavior:

• Speak quickly and smoothly.
• Accelerated thoughts.
• Agitation.
• Mild condition.
• Impulsive and risky behavior.
• Excessive cash expenses
• Hypersexuality.
• A person with mania can also feel lack of sleep and inadequate judgment.
• Maniacs, on the other hand, may have problems with the abuse of alcohol or other substances.

In extreme cases, they may experience psychosis, so that contact with reality is broken, having a high state of mind.

Something ordinary is that a person with mania feels incomparable or indestructible and feels chosen to realize his goal.

Approximately 50% of people with bipolar disorder experience hallucinations or delusions, which can lead to violent behavior or admission to a psychiatric hospital.

Mixed episodes

In bipolar disorder, a mixed episode is a condition in which mania and depression occur simultaneously.

People who experience this condition may have thoughts of grandeur, with depressive symptoms such as suicidal thoughts or guilt.

People who are in this condition are at high risk of suicide because they mix depressive emotions with mood swings or difficulties in dealing with impulsiveness.

The exact causes of bipolar disorder are unclear, although it is believed that they mainly depend on genetic and environmental causes.

Genetic factors

It is believed that 60-70% of the risk of developing bipolarity depends on genetic factors.

Several studies have shown that certain genes and chromosome regions are associated with susceptibility to the development of the disorder, with each gene having a greater or lesser significance.

The risk of bipolar disorder in people with family members with the same diagnosis is 10 times higher than in the general population.

Research indicates heterogeneity, which means that different genes are involved in different families.

Environmental factors

Studies show that environmental factors play an important role in the development of bipolar disorder, and psychosocial variables can interact with genetic dispositions.

Recent life events and interpersonal relationships contribute to manic and depressive episodes.

It was found that 30-50% of adults diagnosed with bipolar disorder report cases of abuse or trauma in childhood, which is associated with an earlier onset of the disorder and with greater suicide attempts.

Evolutionary factors

From evolutionary theory, one might think that the negative effects that bipolar disorder can have on adaptability make genes not be selected by natural selection.

However, in many groups there is still a high incidence of BR, so there may be some evolutionary benefit.

Doctors of evolutionary medicine suggest that high rates of BR throughout history suggest that changes between depressive and manic states suggested some evolutionary advantage in ancestral humans.

In people with a high degree of stress, depressed mood can serve as a protective strategy that allows you to get rid of external stress, store energy and increase sleep hours.

Mania could win thanks to its relationship with creativity, confidence, high energy levels and greater productivity.

Physiological, neurological and neuroendocrine factors

Brain imaging studies have shown differences in the volume of different regions of the brain between patients with bipolar disorder and healthy patients.

An increase in the volume of the lateral ventricles and an increase in the rate of hyperintensity of the white matter were found.

Magnetic resonance studies have shown that there is abnormal modulation between the abdominal prefrontal region and limbic regions, especially the amygdala. This will contribute to poor emotional regulation and mood-related symptoms.

On the other hand, there is evidence confirming the connection between early stressful experiences and dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which leads to hyperactivation.

Less common bipolar disorder can result from trauma or a neurological condition: brain injury, stroke, HIV, multiple sclerosis, porphyria and temporal lobe epilepsy.

It was found that the neurotransmitter responsible for regulating mood, dopamine, increases its transmission during the manic phase and descends during the depressive phase.

Glutamate increases in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during the manic phase.

Diagnostics

Bipolar disorder is not often recognized and is difficult to distinguish from unipolar depression.

His diagnosis requires consideration of several factors: human experience, behavioral abnormalities observed by other people, and signs evaluated by psychiatrists or clinical psychologists.

The most commonly used diagnostic criteria are DSM and ICD-10 of WHO.

Despite the lack of medical evidence to confirm BDP, biological tests are recommended to ensure that there are no physical illnesses such as hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism, metabolic disorders, HIV or syphilis.

It is also advisable to exclude brain injuries and perform an electroencephalogram to exclude epilepsy.

According to DSM-IV, the following types of disorders exist in bipolar disorders:

• Bipolar Disorder I, a single manic episode
• Bipolar Disorder I, last hypomanic episode
• Bipolar Disorder I, last manic episode
• Bipolar Disorder I, last mixed episode
• Bipolar Disorder I, last depressive episode
• Bipolar Disorder I, last episode not specified
• Bipolar Disorder II
• Cyclotymic disorder
• Bipolar disorder is not indicated.

This section describes a manic episode and a major depressive episode.

Diagnostic Criteria for Bipolar Disorder II

A) The presence of one or more serious depressive episodes.

B) The presence of at least one hypomanic episode.

C) The affective symptoms of criteria A and B are not better explained by the presence of schizoaffective disorder and are not superimposed on schizophrenia, schizophrenia-like disorder, delusional disorder or an unspecified psychotic disorder.

D) Symptoms cause clinically significant discomfort or worsening in social, occupational, or other important areas of a person's activity.

The current or last episode is indicated:

• Hypomanic: if the current episode (or later) is a hypomanic episode.
• Depressive: if the current episode (or later) is a serious depressive episode.

Diagnostic Criteria for Manic Episode (DSM-IV)

A) A differentiated period of abnormal mood and persistently high, expansive or irritable, lasts at least a week (or any duration if hospitalization is required).

B) In the period of mood changes, three (or more) of the following symptoms persist (four if the mood is only irritable), and there was a significant degree:

• Exaggerated self-esteem or grandeur.
• Reduced need for sleep.
• More talkative than regular or verbose.
• The leak of ideas or subjective experience that thought is accelerating.
• Increased intentional activity or psychomotor agitation.
• Excessive participation in enjoyable activities that have high potential for serious consequences.

C) Symptoms do not meet the criteria for a mixed episode.

D) A change in state of mind is serious enough to cause impairment of work, familiar social activities, relationships with other people, or the need for hospitalization to prevent harm to oneself or others, or psychotic symptoms.

E) Symptoms are not related to the direct physiological effects of the substance or to a medical illness.

Diagnostic Criteria for a Major Depressive Episode (DSM-IV)

A) The presence of five or more of the following symptoms within 2 weeks, which represent a change from a previous activity; one of the symptoms should be 1. depressed mood, or 2. loss of interest or ability to enjoy:

1. Depressed mood for most of the day, almost every day, as indicated by the subject (sad or empty), or observation made by others (crying). In children or adolescents, mood can be irritable.
2. A sharp decline in interest or opportunities for pleasure in all or almost all activities, most of the day.
3. Big weight loss without a regimen, or weight gain, or loss or increase in appetite almost every day. In children, we must assess the inability to achieve the expected weight gain.
4. Insomnia or hypersomnia every day.
5. Feelings of excessive or inappropriate worthlessness or guilt almost every day.
6. Decreased ability to think or concentrate, or indecision, almost every day.
7. Periodic thoughts of death, repeated suicidal thoughts without a specific plan or attempted suicide or a specific plan to commit suicide.

B) Symptoms do not meet the criteria for a mixed episode.

C) Symptoms cause clinically significant discomfort or social, occupational or other important areas of human activity.

D) Symptoms are not related to the direct physiological effects of a substance or medical illness.

E) Symptoms are not better explained by the presence of grief, the symptoms persist for more than two months or are characterized by severe functional disability, painful fears of futility, suicidal ideation, psychotic symptoms, or a slowdown in psychomotor development.

Comorbid Disorders

There may be some concomitant mental disorders of bipolar disorder: obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, substance abuse, premenstrual syndrome, social phobia, or panic disorder.

Although bipolar disorder cannot be cured, it can be effectively controlled in the long run with medication and psychotherapy.

Psychotherapy

In combination with medication, psychotherapy can be an effective treatment for bipolar disorder.

Some psychotherapeutic methods for treating tuberculosis:

• Family therapy: helps improve family skills, such as helping an affected person or recognizing new episodes. It also improves problem solving and family relationships.
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy: allows the victim to change negative or inappropriate thoughts and behavior.
• Interpersonal therapy and social rhythm: improves the personal relationships of victims with others and helps control their daily lives, which can prevent depressive episodes.
• Psycho-education: educates those affected by the disorder and treatment.

According to the study, medication along with intensive psychotherapy (weekly cognitive behavioral therapy) has better results than just psychotherapy or psycho-education.

Drug treatment

Symptoms of bipolar disorder can be controlled with different types of medications.

Since not everyone responds equally to the same medicine, you may have to try different medicines before you find the right one.

Keeping notes of daily symptoms, procedures, sleep patterns, and other behaviors will help you make effective decisions.

Medications commonly used for BDP are antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and atypical antipsychotics.

Mood stabilizers

They are usually the first line of treatment for bipolar disorder and are usually taken for many years.

Lithium was the first approved stabilizer for the treatment of manic and depressive episodes. There are anticonvulsants that are also used as mood stabilizers:

• Valproic acid: This is a popular alternative to lithium, although young women should be careful.
• Lamotrigine: effective in treating depressive symptoms.
• Other anticonvulsants: oxcarbazepine, gabapentin, topiramate.

The use of valproic acid or lamotrigine can increase thoughts or suicidal behavior, so we must be careful in its use and observe the people who take it.

In addition, valproic acid can increase testosterone levels in teenage girls, which can lead to polycystic ovary syndrome, which has symptoms such as excessive muscle mass, obesity, or an irregular menstrual cycle.

Side effects of lithium can be: dry mouth, restlessness, dyspepsia, acne, discomfort at low temperatures, pain in muscles or joints, brittle hair.

When taking lithium, it is important to check your blood Ph level, as well as the functioning of the liver and thyroid gland.

In some people, lithium consumption can cause hypothyroidism.

Side effects of other mood stabilizers may include the following:

• Dizziness.
• Drowsiness.
• Diarrhea.
• Headache.
• Acidity.
• Constipation.
• Nasal congestion
• Mood changes

Atypical antipsychotics

Often, these drugs are used along with antidepressants to treat bipolar disorder. Atypical antipsychotics can be:

• Aripiprazole: used to treat manic or mixed episodes, in addition to maintaining treatment.
• Olanzapine: May relieve symptoms of mania or psychosis.
• Quetiapine, Respiradone, or Ziprasidone.

Side effects of atypical antipsychotics can be as follows:

• Blurred vision
• Dizziness.
• Tachycardia.
• Drowsiness.
• Sensitivity to the sun
• Spots on the skin.
• Menstrual problems in women.
• Changes in metabolism.
• Weight gain

Due to changes in weight and metabolism, it can increase the risk of developing diabetes or high cholesterol, so it is important to control glucose, weight and lipids.

In rare cases, long-term use of atypical antipsychotics can lead to a condition called tardive dyskinesia, which causes uncontrolled muscle movements.

Antidepressants

Antidepressants commonly prescribed to treat the symptoms of bipolar depression are: paroxetine, fluoxetine, sertraline and bupropion.

Taking only antidepressants may increase your risk of switching to mania or hypomania. To avoid this, mood stabilizers with antidepressants are usually required.

Side effects of antidepressants can be:

• Nausea.
• Headaches.
• Agitation.
• Sexual problems

Patients taking antidepressants should be monitored carefully because they can reinforce thoughts of suicidal behavior.

Other treatments

• Electroconvulsive therapy: May be useful if psychotherapy or treatment does not work. It may include side effects such as disorientation, memory loss, or confusion.
• Sleeping pills: Although sleep is usually improved with medication, if not, sedatives or other drugs can be used to improve sleep.

To properly treat bipolar disorder, you need to make certain changes to your lifestyle:

• Stop drinking or using illegal drugs.
• Get out of poisonous personal relationships and build healthy personal relationships.
• Exercise regularly and keep going.
• Maintain healthy sleep habits.

Epidemiology

Bipolar disorder is the sixth leading cause of disability in the world and has a prevalence of 3% of the general population.

Its frequency is equal to women and men, as well as different cultures and ethnic groups.

Late juvenile age and the beginning of adulthood are the ages at which bipolar disorder is most manifested.

Risk factors

Risk factors that may increase the likelihood of developing BDP are:

• Have a close relative with bipolar disorder.
• Periods of prolonged stress.
• Life events, such as the death of a loved one or traumatic experiences.

Complications

If left untreated, BDP can lead to several problems that affect all vital areas:

• Suicide attempt.
• Legal issues
• Financial difficulties
• Alcohol or drug abuse.
• Problems with family relationships.
• Social isolation.
• Low productivity or at school.
• Lack of work or training.

A healthy lifestyle is needed to control the symptoms of bipolar disorder, reduce symptoms, and prevent relapse.

In addition to psychotherapy and medication, there are other things you can do:

• Self-education: learn about your disorder in order to make the right decisions and control it.
• Duty to treatment: treatment requires an improvement process and requires long-term commitment. Be patient, take the medicine as directed, and continue therapy.
• Observe your symptoms and mood: if you are aware of when a mood change occurs, you can prevent it from developing completely. Try to determine what causes manic or depressive episodes (stress, arguments, seasonal changes, lack of sleep ...).
• Create healthy habits: treat healthy people, get enough sleep, exercise, eliminate alcohol, caffeine or sugar, go to therapy and take medicine ...
• Create an emergency plan: there may be times when you get into a depressive or manic episode. Having a plan for these crises will help you better control them.
• Seek social support: social support is important to staying happy and healthy. Build your relationships with family and friends, go to support groups and create new personal relationships.
• Manage stress: practices relaxation and leisure techniques.

Tips to help a family member with bipolar disorder

Changes in mood and behavior of a person with BPD affect people around them.

They may have to deal with irresponsible decisions, exaggerated demands, explosive flashes or grandiose behavior. Once the mania is over, you will have to face a lack of relative energy in order to continue a normal life.

However, with the right treatment, most people can stabilize their mood.

Here are some ways you can help:

• Encourage your family member to be treated: bipolar disorder is a real disease, and the sooner treatment begins, the better the prognosis.
• Understand: remind the other person that you are ready to help him.
• Learn about bipolar disorder: Learn about symptoms and treatment so you are better prepared for help.
• Be patient: after starting treatment, improvement takes some time.
• Accept the limitations of the victim: people with BDP cannot control their amines with self-control.
• Accept your limitations: you cannot force someone to improve if they do not want to. You can offer support, although recovery is in the hands of another person.
• Stress reduction: stress makes BPD worse.
• Observe the signs of relapse: if you treat early, you can prevent a full episode of depression or mania from developing completely.
• Get ready for destructive behavior: a person with BDP can act irresponsibly or destructively in mania or depression. Being ready for this, you can better cope with the situation.
• Know what to do in a crisis: knowing what you should do in a crisis will help you act correctly. Know emergency numbers for suicidal or violent behavior.

Materials

American Association of Psychiatrists (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.). Arlington: American Psychiatric Publication. pp. 123-154. ISBN 0890425558.
  Schmitt A, Mulhou B, Hassan A, Falkay P (February 2014). "The influence of environmental factors on severe mental disorders." Front Neurosci 8 (19). DOI: 10.3389 / fnins.2014.00019. PMC 3920481. PMID 24574956.
  Hirschfeld, R.M. Vornik, LA (June 2005). "Bipolar Disorder - Costs and Concomitant Diseases." American Journal of Managed Care 11 (3 Suppl): S85-90. PMID 16097719.
Beentjes TA, Goossens PJ, Poslawsky IE (October 2012). "Patient Care for Bipolar Hypomania and Mania: A Systematic Review." Perspect Psychiatr Care 48 (4): 187-97. DOI: 10.1111 / j.1744-6163.2012.00328.x. PMID 23005586.
  Titmarsh S (May-June 2013). "Characteristics and duration of mania: implications for continuing treatment." Progress in Neurology and Psychiatry 17 (3): 26-7. DOI: 10.1002 / pnp.283.

This article addresses bipolar disorder in adult patients. About 3 million US residents, or 1% of the total US population, suffer from this disease, including similar numbers of the disease in all countries of the world. This disease affects both men and women equally. Most often it develops between the ages of 15 to 24 years.

What is bipolar disorder?

Bipolar disorder is a disease that causes a sharp change in mood, for example, an overly elevated state of mania suddenly turns into a severe state of depression. This disease has another disease - manic-depressive syndrome.

Bipolar disorder affects your mood so much that you cannot fully perform duties at work, behave adequately in the family or in relation to people around you. Some people with this disease become suicidal.

This disease can cause a sick person a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness. However, a sick person is not alone. If he visits a support group and talks with people like himself, he will realize that there is hope for a better life. And the treatment will help him regain control of his mood.

Relatives of the patient also feel helpless. If your family has a person who is sick with bipolar disorder, you yourself should attend psychotherapy sessions. Psychotherapy sessions will also help a child whose parents are ill with this disease.

ICD-10 code

F31 Bipolar Affective Disorder

Causes of Bipolar Disorder in Adults

To date, scientists cannot say exactly what the cause of bipolar disorder is. It is only known for sure that this disease has a hereditary character. It can also develop amid environmental or family problems. One of the most common causes is an imbalance in the chemical elements of the brain.

Although the causes of bipolar disorder have not yet been studied, there is evidence that this disease is inherited. Problems in the family or the negative impact of the environment can also cause the development of this disease. In addition, attacks of mania or depression can be caused by an imbalance of chemical elements in the brain such as neurotransmitters.

Antidepressants can cause a mania attack in a patient for bipolar disorder. This can happen even before the patient is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, at the moment when he will be treated for depression.

Sleep disturbance, abuse of alcohol or stimulants, such as caffeine, can also cause a mania attack in a person with this disease.

Provocative factors

Bipolar disorder is inherited. If there have been cases of bipolar disorder in your family, then your chances of getting this disease increase.

If you suffer from bipolar disorder, then changes in your sleep schedule or daily routine can lead to an attack of mania. Antidepressants can also cause a mania attack. But this can be revealed after the development of mania, when he is trying to cure an attack of depression.

Stressful situations in life can cause both mania and depression.

Your chances of developing an attack of mania or depression are increasing. If you do not follow the doctor’s instructions and do not take the medicine regularly. Very often during an attack of mania, when the patient honors himself well, he stops taking medications. Even if you feel relieved, do not stop taking the medicine, this will help you control your condition.

Abuse of alcohol, drugs or experienced violence increases your chances of having another illness.

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Symptoms of bipolar disorder in adults

Symptoms of the disease depend on what phase of mood you are in. For example, if you have mania, then you will feel extremely energetic, happy, and sexually excited. It will seem to you that you do not want to sleep at all. You will feel overconfident. Some people in periods of mania spend too much money or behave in a life-threatening way.

After the phase of mania, you can return to normal or, conversely, fall into the opposite feelings of sadness, depression and helplessness. Being in a depressed mood it will be difficult for you to make a decision and think soberly. Memory problems may occur. You may lose interest in your favorite pastimes. Thoughts about committing suicide may also occur.

Mood swings in bipolar disorder can occur in both mild and severe. An attack can begin slowly over several days or weeks, or develop suddenly within a few hours. An attack can last from several hours to several months.

Bipolar disorder causes sharp mood swings, when the patient at one moment feels overwhelmed, and after a while becomes depressed and powerless.

During a mania attack, the patient:

• Feels extremely happy or very irritable.
• Has too high self-esteem.
• Does not need sleep, as usual (feels rested after three hours of sleep).
• It becomes overly talkative.
• More active than usual.
• He cannot concentrate on one thing, because he has too many ideas at the same time (wandering thoughts).
• Easily distracted by sounds or pictures.
• Behaves impulsively or irresponsibly, for example, spends large sums of money, carelessly drives a car, takes part in dubious transactions and becomes indiscriminate in sexual relations, which leads to unprotected sex.

During depression, the patient may:

• Most of the time being depressed or bothered by something.
• Feel pessimistic or hopeless.
• Suffer from slowness in movements or speech due to a breakdown.
• Have difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions.
• To experience changes in appetite or sleep disturbance, which leads to excessive overeating or increased drowsiness or vice versa.
• Relive the indifference to once beloved activities, including sex.
• Have suicidal thoughts.
• Do not rejoice at those things that evoked positive emotions in the past.

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Stages

First degree bipolar disorder

This species is considered a classic form of bipolar disorder and causes attacks of both mania and depression. An attack of depression can last a short period of time or for months. After this, the patient can either return to normal, or go directly to the phase of mania.

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Second degree bipolar disorder

With this form of the disease, the patient experiences an attack of depression, as well as with bipolar disorder of the first degree, however, attacks of mania occur in a milder form, the so-called attacks of hypomania. In the second degree of bipolar disorder, patients are more likely to suffer bouts of depression than hypomania.

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Cyclic bipolar disorder

With this form of the disease, the patient experiences at least 4 attacks of mania, depression, or a combination of them over the course of one year. Most often, seizures often succeed each other, moving from one phase of mood to another. Sometimes the patient may not be in a normal state for a short time between attacks. Attacks of mania and depression occur in the same way as with other types of this disease, however, the frequency with which they change each other and indicates the cyclical nature of bipolar disorder.

Sometimes patients with this disease may have mixed symptoms, that is, symptoms of mania and depression appear simultaneously. These symptoms include a feeling of sadness, euphoria and irritability. They also include excitement, lack of need for sleep, a change in appetite and, possibly, thoughts of suicide. Such a course of the disease greatly complicates the process of its treatment and complicates the life of the patient.

In addition to mood swings, some patients with bipolar disorder may have symptoms of anxiety syndrome, panic attacks, or symptoms of psychosis.

Symptoms of bipolar disorder in children can be completely different from the symptoms of this disease in adults and are often perceived as other mental illnesses in children, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or depression. Bipolar disorder in children affects their school performance, their ability to communicate with friends and relatives.

There are diseases whose symptoms are at first glance similar to those of bipolar disorder, such as depression, schizophrenia, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

People diagnosed with bipolar disorder are more likely to abuse alcohol and drugs, while men are more likely to abuse these substances than women. Alcohol or drug use may affect the effectiveness of treatment and medication. Against the background of bipolar disorder, diseases such as:

• Obsessive Syndrome
• Panic disorder or panic attacks

These diseases must be treated together.

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Complications and consequences

In bipolar disorder, the patient balances between bouts of mania or depression. between attacks, the patient can either completely return to normal or have minor symptoms. Attacks of mood swings can begin abruptly and suddenly or slowly.

During an attack of mania, the patient feels extremely happy and full of energy, or very irritable for a week or longer. The patient also becomes overworked and creative. He feels powerful and seductive and believes that he can achieve any goal. However, with the further development of this attack, the patient begins to behave unchecked and irrational. He begins to spend large sums of money, gets involved in dubious transactions and sleeps very little. At this time, he is experiencing difficulties at work and in communication with loved ones.

After the attack of mania is on the decline, the patient may return to normal or immediately switch to the opposite mood, he feels useless, hopeless and sad. During an attack of depression, the patient has difficulty concentrating, he becomes forgetful and cannot make a decision on his own. His appetite changes and sleep is disturbed. He loses interest in his once beloved pursuits. Some people may commit suicide during this period or intentionally inflict injury on themselves. Others believe that they cannot move, think and take care of themselves.

Men are more prone to bouts of mania, while women are more likely to experience bouts of depression.

The cause of the development of an attack of mania or depression can be experienced stress. But with the development of the disease, these attacks can appear for no reason. Without proper treatment, bipolar disorder will intensify and will cause bouts of mania and depression to recur very often.

People with this condition become prone to diseases such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes. If you are undergoing treatment, your doctor will monitor your health status.

Diagnosis of bipolar disorder in adults

Bipolar disorder is a disease that is very difficult to diagnose. Unfortunately, there are no specific laboratory tests with which to determine this disease. Instead, your healthcare provider will ask you many questions about your symptoms, their intensity and duration. To diagnose first-degree bipolar disorder, the patient must be in the mania phase for at least a week (or less if he had to be hospitalized). During this time, the patient should have three or more symptoms of mania, for example, decreased need for sleep, increased talkativeness, irresponsible behavior, or a feeling that thoughts are confused. To diagnose second-degree bipolar disorder, a mania attack may be shorter and more mild.

Also, in the process of diagnosis, the doctor should prescribe blood and urine tests to exclude other diseases that cause similar symptoms.

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Analyzes

There are no special laboratory tests that can be used to diagnose bipolar disorder. Instead, the doctor will ask detailed questions regarding the symptoms of the disease, including their duration and frequency. The doctor will discuss with you the medical history of the disease in your family and make an opinion on the mental state.

The conclusion about the mental state will allow the doctor to evaluate your emotional functionality, ability to think, remember and reason. This conclusion consists of an interview with a psychiatrist, a physical examination, and written or oral tests. During the interview, the psychiatrist will evaluate your appearance, mood, behavior, your thoughts, ability to reason, your memory, ability to express yourself and ability to maintain relationships.

Blood and urine tests will also be performed to rule out other diseases that cause symptoms, such as thyroid dysfunction. There will also be tests for the presence of narcotic substances in the blood.

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Early diagnosis

The sooner bipolar disorder is diagnosed and treatment is prescribed, the sooner you can regain control of your mood. Early diagnosis will also help to avoid the consequences of the disease, such as alcohol or drug abuse, or suicide.

About 10-15% of patients with bipolar disorder die due to suicide. About 60% of patients have alcohol or drug addiction, which affects the effectiveness of treatment.

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Adult Bipolar Disorder

The sooner you diagnose bipolar disorder and begin treatment, the higher your chances of regaining control of your mood. One of the most important points in the treatment of bipolar mania is the recognition of its first signs, which will give you the opportunity to start treatment as soon as possible with the help of medications, which should alleviate the condition of mania.

A large number of medications are used to treat bipolar disorder. It is possible that you will have to try several different drugs until you find the right medicine for you.

• Most patients with this disease have to take medications called mood stabilizers every day.
• Medications called antipsychotics help you quickly cope with an attack of mania.
• In some cases, antidepressants are used to treat an attack of depression, but this must be done with great care, since they can cause an attack of mania.

A regular visit to a doctor will help you quickly find the right medicine for you.

An important role in the treatment is played by psychotherapy, the sessions of which should be attended not only by patients, but also by his relatives. Psychotherapy will help the patient cope with some problems that may arise at work or at home due to his illness.

Keeping a mood diary will help you quickly learn to recognize the slightest changes and notice symptoms. Write down in your diary your feelings and the reasons that caused them. If you understand what exactly causes your mood attack, you will learn how to avoid it over time.

Very often, during the period of mania, when the patient feels very well, he stops taking medication. But this is not worth doing. You should take the medicine all the time, even if you feel healthy.

Although bipolar disorder is not a treatable disease, it can be treated with a combination of medications and psychotherapy sessions. Before your doctor selects the right medicine for you, you will have to try several different drugs.

Initial treatment

Usually, the first treatment is prescribed in the acute phase of bipolar disorder, when the patient experiences his first attack of mania. In the acute phase of the disease, the patient may be in a psychopathic state, be prone to suicide, or cannot reason so reasonably that he could harm himself. In such cases, the doctor may prescribe hospitalization in order to protect the patient from rash acts.

In the acute phase of the disease, the following medications can be used:

• Mood stabilizersfor example lithium carbonate. Experts believe that lithium affects certain chemical elements of the brain (neurotransmitters) that cause mood changes. However, the mechanism of action of this drug is not known.
• Anticonvulsant mood stabilizers, such as sodium valproate, divalproex, and carbamazepines. Valproate and divalproex are used in the treatment of mania attacks. The anticonvulsant lamotrigine has been approved for long-term use and is used in the treatment of first-degree bipolar disorder or bouts of depression. These drugs have also been shown to be effective in treating difficult to treat bipolar disorder. A combination of anticonvulsants and mood stabilizers are often used to treat acute attacks of mania.
• Antipsychoticsfor example, olanzapine, risperidone, quetiapine and arapiprazole. They help relieve symptoms of both an attack of mania and an attack of depression. They can be used in combination with mood stabilizers and anticonvulsants.
• Benzodiazepines

Supportive treatment

Supportive care for bipolar disorder consists of attending psychotherapy sessions and medications that are taken to avoid repeated attacks of mania or depression. It may take months before the symptoms of the disease subside and you can return to normal.

Usually mood stabilizers are prescribed for prolonged use. However, despite taking them, you can survive repeated bouts of mania or depression. In such cases, the doctor will prescribe additional medications. If you have had several attacks of mania or one acute attack, you will have to take medicine all your life. Psychotherapy will help you restore your relationship and get back to work.

Atypical anticonvulsants are currently used for maintenance treatment, but their effectiveness has not been proven.

Treatment when the disease worsens

If, in addition to bipolar disorder, you have symptoms of anxiety syndrome, such as anxiety and loss of sleep, panic attacks or signs of psychosis, you will need to take additional medications.

Information for consideration

When discussing a drug with your doctor, consider whether your lifestyle will allow you to take medicine every day at the same time. If you are unable to remember about taking the medicine, you can ask your doctor to prescribe a drug that is taken once a day.

You should also not forget about the side effects of medications. You may not be able to handle some of the side effects. Before starting medication, be sure to discuss all side effects with your doctor, this may affect the choice of the drug.

It has been proven that the use of antidepressants as stand-alone drugs in the treatment of bipolar depression can cause an attack of mania. Therefore, the use of antidepressants should occur under the supervision of a physician.

Unfortunately, many people do not see a doctor with symptoms of bipolar disorder. This is due to the fact that a person thinks that he can cope with the symptoms on his own. However, it is not.

Timely diagnosis of the disease and its effective treatment will help you avoid unpleasant and life-threatening consequences.

Precautionary measures

Unfortunately, bipolar disorder cannot be prevented, but with the help of medications, you can control the attacks of mood swings.

Every third patient will be completely cured of the symptoms of bipolar disorder if he takes mood stabilizers all his life, for example, carbamazepines or lithium.

To prevent an attack of mania or depression, you can:

• Adhere to a well balanced diet.
• Do exercise every day.
• Avoid traveling to other time zones.
• Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
• Avoid alcohol and drugs.
• Reduce stressful situations at work and at home.
• Reduce caffeine and nicotine intake.
• Begin treatment as soon as you notice symptoms of a mania attack or depression.

Changes in your usual sleep schedule can cause bouts of mania or depression. If you are planning a trip to a different time zone, consult your doctor before doing so. Ask him if you should change the dose of the medication you are taking and what to do if you start to have an attack away from home.

Home treatment

Home treatment plays an important role in the overall treatment of bipolar disorder. To help yourself control your mood, you can:

• Take the medicine every day as prescribed by your doctor.
• Do sport. You can do light exercises for 30 minutes every day. These exercises include hiking.
• Watch your sleep. Keep silence and twilight in the bedroom and try to go to bed at the same time.
• Eat a healthy, balanced diet. By a balanced diet, we mean a set of foods from different groups, for example, whole grains, dairy products, fruits and vegetables, protein. Eat foods from each food group (for example, eat different fruits, not just apples). This will help you get all the necessary nutrients with food, as one type of product will not be able to provide them for you. Eat little by little, but do not overeat. A healthy diet can make up foods from all food groups, but on the condition that you follow the rule of restraint.
• Control stressful situations in life. Organize your time and responsibilities, create yourself a strong social support group, create effective methods of dealing with stress and lead a healthy lifestyle. Methods of stress reduction include physical activity and sports, breathing exercises, muscle relaxation techniques and massage.
• Avoid alcohol and drugs.
• During a mania attack, reduce your caffeine and nicotine intake.
• Learn to recognize the first signs of an attack of mania or depression.
• Ask relatives or friends to help you in difficult times. For example, if you are depressed, you may need to help with homework or you need to be controlled during an attack of mania.

Family members often feel helpless when a loved one experiences an attack of mania or depression. But relatives and friends can help the patient as follows:

• Maintain and encourage medication, even if the patient feels well.
• Be able to recognize signs of suicide, which include:
  • Abuse of alcohol or drugs in large quantities.
  • Conversations, letters or drawings about death. Including writing suicide notes.
  • Talk about things that can be harmful, such as pills, weapons, or knives.
  • Frequent spending time alone.
  • Aggressive behavior or sudden calm.
• Recognizing the first signs of an attack of mania or depression and encouraging immediate treatment.
• Give your loved one enough time to return to everyday life after an attack.
• Know the difference between just a good mood and a state of hypomania. Hypomania is an elevated or irritable mood, which is very different from just a good mood and can last a week or longer.
• Encourage the patient to attend psychotherapy sessions and support groups, as well as visiting the support group himself, if necessary.

Medication

Medications can help control mood swings when they are taken regularly and as directed by your doctor. Although a family doctor may prescribe a medication for treating bipolar disorder, he will most likely refer you to a psychotherapist who has experience in treating such diseases.

Mood stabilizers, such as lithium, are the first drugs that are prescribed to treat an attack of mania, and later as drugs that prevent attacks of mania and depression. To fully control your illness, you may need to take medication for many years or even a lifetime. So that you can better control the symptoms of the disease, the doctor may prescribe additional medications - usually anticonvulsants.

Depending on your symptoms, the type of disease and your reaction to the medication, the doctor will select an individual dose of drugs and their combination.

Drug Selection

Several types of medication are used in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Before you choose the right product and its dose, you will have to try several drugs. The most common drugs include:

• Mood stabilizersfor example lithium carbonate. Experts believe that lithium affects certain chemical elements of the brain (neurotransmitters) that cause mood changes. However, the mechanism of action of this drug is not known. For the treatment of the acute phase of an attack of mania, doctors advise taking mood stabilizers in combination with antipsychotics. Drugs like sodium valproate, divalproex and carbamazepines are also considered mood stabilizers. Valproate and divalproex are used in the treatment of mania attacks. The anticonvulsant lamotrigine has been approved for long-term use and is used in the treatment of first-degree bipolar disorder or bouts of depression. These drugs have also been shown to be effective in treating difficult to treat bipolar disorder.
• Antipsychoticsfor example, olanzapine, risperidone, quetiapine and arapiprazole. Antipsychotics relieve symptoms of mania. Olanzapine can be used in combination with mood stabilizers and anticonvulsants.
• Benzodiazepines, for example, diazepam (Valium). They are used instead of antipsychotics or as an additional tool in the treatment of an attack of mania.

Information for consideration

Antidepressants, including fluoxetine, which are used to treat bouts of depression, need to be taken very carefully, as they can cause a mania attack. Currently, experts advise taking antidepressants for a short period of time and only with acute bouts of depression and in combination with mood stabilizers.

If you have been prescribed lithium, valproate, or carbamazepine, you will have to do a blood test regularly to monitor the level of these drugs in the blood. Excessive lithium levels in the blood can lead to serious side effects. While taking these drugs, the doctor will also monitor their effect on the function of the liver, kidneys, thyroid gland and will measure the number of blood bodies in the body.

When you see a doctor, do not forget to ask him:

• On the side effects of each of the medicines.
• How often should you take the medicine.
• How these drugs may interact with other medicines that you take.
• How important it is to take the medicine every day at the same time.

If you take medication for bipolar disorder during pregnancy, this may increase your risk of birth defects. If you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, be sure to inform your doctor. If your disease is acute, you will have to continue taking medication. A doctor will help you compare the risk of treatment with the risk of harming the baby.

The Food and Drug Administration recommends the following:

• Remember to increase the risk of suicide by antidepressants. The management does not claim that patients should stop taking these drugs. Instead, it is necessary to monitor the person taking antidepressants for signs of suicidal behavior. This is especially true for the start of taking medication and changing their dose.
• Remember to increase the risk of suicide with anticonvulsants. The management does not claim that patients should stop taking these drugs. Instead, it is necessary to monitor the person taking anticonvulsants for signs of suicidal behavior. If you are taking anticonvulsants and are worried about this side effect, consult your doctor.

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Alternative treatments

Most patients with this disease need medical treatment. But psychotherapy sessions also play an important role in the treatment process, as they help you deal with problems at work and at home caused by your illness.

Other treatments

The types of psychotherapy that are used in the treatment of bipolar disorder include:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which focuses on changing certain patterns of behavior and thinking, which helps you feel better. It is based on the theory that thoughts and behavior can affect the patient's symptoms and become a barrier to recovery.
• Interpersonal therapy, which focuses on the personal and social relationships of the patient and the problems associated with them. During the sessions, the patient discusses their problems, the causes of their occurrence and ways to resolve them.
• Problem Solving Therapy, a simplified version of cognitive therapy that has been used in the past to treat depression. She focuses on the problem and helps the patient find an immediate solution.
• Family therapyA therapy that helps relatives and family members cope with a stressful situation or an important life event. During the sessions, family members can express their concerns about how the disease will affect the patient and the whole family.

In some cases, electroshock therapy is used. During this procedure, a controlled electric charge is passed through the electrodes that are attached to the patient’s skull. This charge should provoke a minor cramp in the brain, which is able to balance the chemical elements of the brain.

Adjunctive therapy

Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil can be used as an adjunct to the main course of treatment for bipolar disorder. However, this nutritional supplement requires additional research into the effectiveness of its use in the treatment of children and adolescents.

Information for consideration

Establish a long and trusting relationship with your therapist. It will help you see changes in behavior and personality traits that tell you that you are having an attack of mania or depression. Earlier treatment of an attack will help to cope with it faster.

Bipolar disorder affects not only the patient, but affects all members of his family. They must understand what kind of illness it is and know how to help their loved one.

Bipolar disorder: when to see a doctor?

If you have bipolar disorder, consult a doctor immediately or call an ambulance if:

• You think that you cannot protect yourself from harming yourself or other people.
• Hear voices that you've never heard before, or they upset you more than usual.
• Would you like to commit suicide or know the person who is going to do it.

Signs of suicide include:

• Excessive use of alcohol or drugs.
• Conversations, drawings, or letters of death, including writing suicide notes or talking about objects that could harm yourself, such as tablets, weapons, or knives.
• The desire to be alone.
• Giving your own things.
• Aggressive behavior or a sudden state of calm.

Waiting and watching

Monitoring the patient's condition will be enough if he is at the beginning of the attack and takes medication regularly. If the symptoms of the attack do not improve within 2 weeks, consult a doctor.

If your loved one suffers from a mania attack and behaves irrationally, help him turn to a professional for help.

Who to contact?

Bipolar disorder is a complex and difficult to diagnose disease, as it has many different phases and symptoms. Sometimes he gets entangled with depression, since it is during the period of depression that patients most often seek help.

After diagnosis, it is important that the patient has a long and trusting relationship with the doctor. This will help the doctor to choose the most effective medicine and its best dose.

Despite the fact that different doctors can make a diagnosis, you will be advised to consult a psychiatrist with experience in treating such diseases and the right to prescribe medications.

Doctors who can diagnose bipolar disorder:

• Family doctors.
• Interns.
• Practicing psychiatric nurses.

Relatives support

If your family member or your loved one is sick with bipolar disorder, it would not be bad for you to seek help from a psychiatrist. This will help you learn how the illness of a loved one will affect your life.

Also, psychotherapy sessions will help the child survive the illness of the parents. Changing the mood of the parent can cause the child to cry, anger, depression, or disobedience.

Bipolar affective disorder is a disease on the list of mental disorders. Previously, the medical term “manic-depressive psychosis” was used, which more clearly reflects the condition of a sick person for ordinary people. But be that as it may - the disease takes place and it is necessary to examine the symptoms in time in order to undertake adequate treatment.

Surely most of the readers came across a person whose mood, ability to work, and quick wit often change. For example, an excellent worker suddenly loses the basic skills of his favorite business, and a capable student completely loses knowledge in his favorite subject. Often, the condition creates a lot of moral problems for those around the patient, whose condition can lead to suicide. This is bipolar affective disorder - manic depressive psychosis. There is an opportunity to influence the patient, and there are also preventive measures that minimize the risk of developing a mental disorder. The risk group includes children at puberty, high school students, and pensioners.

Bipolar affective disorder used to be called manic-depressive psychosis.

Defining this disease is very problematic. Patients have a malfunction of the emotional state at completely opposite poles. Most of us, or to be more precise, everyone feels a sharp change in mood, a change in working capacity for fatigue, without any good reason. But there is nothing unnatural in this. As for people suffering from BAR, their condition in case of violation of the emotional factor can last for months, years, there are powerful depression, mania.

How to determine BAR

To know the “enemy” in person, it is necessary to study the term “bipolar affective disorder”, what is this condition leading to dangerous consequences. About one and a half percent of the world's population is affected by this disease. The problem in diagnosing arises due to poorly manifested symptoms. Patients turn to doctors, and often, they are brought to a specialist by relatives, relatives only a few years after the first symptoms. In some patients, they can occur a maximum of 1-2 times per year, in others almost every day. And most of those who suffer from the disease - bipolar affective disorder (bar), do not understand that they are overtaken by a serious ailment. Diseases are inherent in manic, depressive states, often they accompany a person at the same time.

Bipolar Personality Disorder: Causes

This disease is endogenous. The development of the condition is affected by both external stimuli and the following points:

1. Genetic predisposition. When diagnosing a mental illness, experts note that the pathology was present or is observed in the patient's relatives. According to medical statistics, the disease is transmitted from parents in approximately 50% of cases. In addition to this ailment, children can develop another mental pathology.
2. Great influence on the human psyche has environment. External stimuli can play the role of a trigger for the development of mental pathology. These include:
3. Head injury. Concussion can cause disruption of the intercellular ligaments, necrosis of entire areas of brain tissue.
4. Infectious diseases. Meningitis, encephalitis and other diseases destroy brain cells, upset the balance of hormones.
5. Poisoning. During intoxication, poisonous substances, decay products from the death of healthy and pathogenic cells get into the human blood, oxygen starvation occurs, and a lack of optimal blood supply.
6. Stress, psychological trauma. After traumatizing the psyche, often not only the disease described by us arises, but also other, serious mental deviations.

Important: it cannot be assumed that these factors directly cause bipolar affective disorder of 10 mcb, they only provoke an ailment if it is laid down at the genetic level.

Stress May Cause Bipolar Affective Disorder

Bipolar affective disorders: how they manifest

Manic-depressive psychosis - the second name of BAR, is manifested either in the form of depression, then mania, and sometimes the combination of the two forms at the same time.

For example, a person can be cheerful, too talkative, optimistic, talk with enthusiasm about his plans, but usually it does not come to true actions. A short period passes, and he also becomes gloomy, whining, incapable. Moreover, not only moral, but also physical strength is lost in him, his ability to remember and think is lost. This person sees the future only in black, gloomy colors, thoughts of suicide arise. For those who do not know what bipolar affective disorder is, this is a good example. To understand the details, you should understand each type of psychosis.

Depressive phase of bipolar affective disorder

Depressive episodes are characterized by the following manifestations:

• depressed mood;
• inhibition of thinking;
• fatigue, delay in movement.

The main symptom is a depressed mood. The state is not affected by any positive news, events, whether it is the birth of a child, a wedding, a meeting with a loved one, etc. When talking with a doctor, such patients express their condition with the words: sad, sad, "sick" on the soul.

Inhibited thinking is manifested by the difficulty to absorb information, to reproduce it. Previously beloved, mental work has now become a real test, the patient is not able to concentrate, plan, make decisions.

Important: a depressive state is aggravated in the morning, it is at this time that the risk of suicide is high. Therefore, you must be near the patient before waking up or immediately after it.

Depressive phase - bipolar affective disorder, the symptoms of which are supplemented by a complete loss or excessively increased appetite, increased sexual desire. In case of illness, the patient’s self-esteem drops, self-confidence, faith in one’s strength and capabilities are lost.

Affective personality disorder: manic episodes

This type of pathology is the exact opposite of the depressive phase of the disease. In contrast to patients suffering from depression and understanding the seriousness of their situation, representatives of the second type go to the doctor on time extremely rarely. They are not able to be critical of a failure in their own psyche, they do not understand the consequences of bipolar personality disorder, and the symptoms of a dangerous ailment.

Manic state is manifested in this way:

• the mood of a person rises sharply;
• the pace of thinking is increasing;
• psychomotorism is excited.

With bipolar affective disorder increases sexual desire

Persons with the next phase of the disease become overly optimistic, they have their own self-esteem inflated, they are afraid of nothing and nobody. You can recognize a sick person if you pay attention to such points:

1. he becomes too talkative, sociable;
2. anxiety, excessive activity is manifested;
3. not able to concentrate on one thing, constantly distracted;
4. the patient sleeps little;
5. increased sexual desire, while reduced intelligibility in partners in sex;
6. behavior becomes reckless, irresponsible.

Before determining the diagnosis, it is necessary to exclude the use of psychotropic drugs and drugs by such persons, after which the clinical picture is similar to bipolar pathology.

BAR - Bipolar Affective Disorder: Diagnosis

An experienced doctor without fail studies psychotic symptoms, an important factor in the successful treatment of the condition. With BAR, the following symptoms may occur:

• delusions of grandeur, delusional hallucinations of an erotic nature, delusions of persecution;
• nonsense nonsense - denial of the obvious, mania of guilt, hypochondria, etc.

For an accurate diagnosis, a complete medical history is required, taking into account all the details of the disease, including information about the mental state of the patient's relatives.

It is important for a specialist to establish the form and course of the disease, to find out whether manic, depressive states have been observed before. If so, how long did mania or depression last, did remissions occur. Based on information and criteria indicating the patient’s condition, the severity of the signs of the disease, the doctor makes a diagnosis.

Depending on what symptoms manifested earlier, how the seizures (phases) occurred, the specialist identifies two types of BAR:

1. 1st type  the disease is posed in the event that the patient has previously manifested episodes (manic). In this case, depressive phases are not taken into account. Type 1 symptoms are more likely to affect men.
2. 2nd type  manifested by the predominance of depressive phases, combined with rare episodes of mania. This type is more susceptible to female persons.

Bipolar affective disorder: complications

Patients with BAR are primarily a danger to themselves. In advanced stages, without proper treatment, they make repeated suicide attempts.

• The depressive phase is incessant self-flagellation, states of grief, longing, sadness. Many of us have heard the expression "Cats scratch in our hearts." So, in patients with bipolar disorder - this condition lasts from several days to many years. Agree, it is impossible to live with this without adequate therapy.
• The manic phase is also alarming. High optimism, high self-esteem, promiscuity in sexual intercourse leads to sexually transmitted diseases, intractable diseases, HIV, AIDS, etc. Do not forget about the financial side of the issue. Excessive activity, the desire to conquer business peaks can lead to serious costs, and as a result - loans, debts, unfulfilled obligations to serious people.

Bipolar Affective Disorder: Treatment

At the first signs of a mental disorder, you should consult a doctor. Do not postpone a visit to a specialist and with symptoms manifested in relatives. As we already know, the neglected phases can lead to life-threatening patient and its surrounding consequences.

Important: bipolar affective disorder is a mental disorder that can be treated independently at home, or with the help of dubious representatives of alternative medicine is strictly impossible.

Ways to influence types, phases are radically different. The treatment of bipolar personality disorder should be comprehensive: drug and psychotherapy.

Therapist needs to treat bipolar affective disorder

Among the medical pharmaceuticals in eliminating the symptoms of BAR include.

• Antipsychotics: eliminate dangerous symptoms, anxiety, hallucinations, delusional conditions. Doctors often prescribe haloperidol, rispaxol, quetiapine.
• Antidepressants: assigned to both prevent and relieve depressive mood. The number of items is huge, prescribed according to the symptoms, effectiveness in terms of effects, taking into account side effects. Popular remedies: amitriptyline, fluoxetine, fluvomaxine, sertraline, etc.
• Thymostabilizers: regulate the mood of a person, reduce the severity of opposite vibrations. Previously, drugs of this type were used to eliminate seizures in epileptic seizures and other conditions. In studies, experts found the ability of thymostabilizers to normalize the course of BAR. Among the effective agents - carbamazepine, lithium salt, valproate, are used not only as a treatment, but as a prophylaxis of personality disorder.

Bipolar Affective Disorder: Psychotherapy

In recent years, psychotherapy has been widely used, it can be both individual and general. It all depends on what symptoms the patient is worried about, which in life brings maximum discomfort.

Important: many people think about the question - is bipolar disorder treated only with psychotherapy. Psychotherapist's sessions are an additional type of treatment, without the use of drugs there will be no successful effect.

When communicating with the patient, the doctor can make an accurate diagnosis, identify the main problems, make it possible to realize the dangerous consequence of the committed acts. Thus, the patient can overestimate, rethink his life and actions.

As for the relatives of patients, the doctor helps them to recognize the diagnosis of bipolar affective disorder, what happens to patients, improve the situation in the family, resolve conflicts and concentrate on the most important thing - to help a loved one suffering from BAR.

Bipolar Affective Personality Disorder: Therapies

Psychotherapists most often use the cognitive-behavioral method of exposure. During treatment, the specialist teaches the patient to identify problems that exacerbate the condition, destructive behavior, replace the negative perception of reality with positive. Thanks to such changes, the patient is exploring a new approach to life, overcoming difficult circumstances with minimal harm to his own psyche. Manic-depressive psychosis (bipolar affective disorder) requires careful study by the patient. He must understand the nature of the disease, the significance of the prescribed drugs and sessions.

Bipolar Disorder: How to Live Further

Do not be upset and panic if you are diagnosed with BAR. This disease has a favorable prognosis. Most with adequate therapy feels a persistent remission - the symptoms are absent or appear in a mild form that no one notices, including the patient himself.

The prognosis for the diagnosis of BAR can be quite favorable.

Unlike schizophrenia and other mental disorders that cause changes in the character, the personality - indifference, lack of emotions, initiative, with BAR everything is more favorable. Only in acute phases do inadequate mental states arise, with remission, nothing gives out the disease. If you strictly follow the doctor’s recommendations, take medicines on time, attend psychotherapy sessions - the number of seizures will be minimized, and a stable remission will remain for years.

The modern type of life, the situation in the world, strong nervous tension - all this can provoke serious problems with mental health. Recently, bipolar disorder has been increasingly diagnosed. What it is, how it proceeds, and how it is treated - you will learn further.

general characteristics

This is a rather severe mood disorder, which is characterized by unexpected manifestations that, without appropriate treatment, can lead to isolation of a person from society and more deplorable consequences. Pathology is chronic. The patient’s mood rises and falls. In this case, the states alternate unexpectedly and quickly enough.

Bipolar disorder, what it is, you already know, is dangerous because it can provoke suicide. Therefore, timely diagnosis of pathology and its adequate treatment is so important.

The disorder has two phases: depressive (the patient has no mood, he can’t do anything) and manic (in this case, the patient becomes very active and often is not responsible for his actions). Since conditions abruptly replace each other, there is no need to talk about normal life in society.

Causes of the disease

If you develop bipolar affective disorder, the symptoms in the early stages may be similar to normal depression. Therefore, you should immediately consult a specialist so as not to miss the beginning of the development of serious problems.

Varieties of pathology

I must say that this disease is also extraordinary. Therefore, types of bipolar disorders should be considered. Pathology can be classified as follows:

1. The first type. It is the most common and is characterized by a change in the manic and depressive stages.

2. The second type. It is characterized by hypomania and a depressive state. In this case, the latter condition is more common. The manic stage is more mild.

3. The third type is cyclothymia. It is characterized by a mild form of depression and mania. That is, the maximum and minimum manifestations of these states are not very pronounced.

Diagnostic Features

It should be noted that initial bipolar manic disorder is very difficult to recognize. In this case, pathology can develop for a long time. Please note that even an experienced doctor will not always be able to accurately diagnose such a problem.

First, the doctor should ask you in detail about the symptoms and features of the pathology. Naturally, he should make an anamnesis of your family in order to exclude or confirm the hereditary causes of the disease. Next, you will have to examine the thyroid gland, which can also affect mood swings.

And there are drugs that can cause symptoms of bipolar disorder, although in fact you do not have it. These are antidepressants, drugs to eliminate anxiety, corticosteroids. The adrenal glands should also be carefully examined. A small amount of vitamin B12 can also contribute to mood changes. That is, bipolar disorder (manic-depressive psychosis) should be diagnosed by a specialist who already has experience in combating this disease.

Features of traditional treatment

Now you need to understand how to deal with pathology. Learn that if you have bipolar disorder, treatment can last for years. It is aimed at reducing the symptoms of pathology, improving the social status of the patient in society, increasing the intervals of the normal state. You will need complex therapy, which will consist of the following components:

Drug treatment. People with bipolar disorder should take drugs that stabilize their mood and minimize its differences (Depakin Chrono, Carbamazepine, lithium-based drugs, non-sensory drugs).

Lifestyle change. You will need to get used to your disease, study it from A to Z. That is, you need to establish a sleep regimen, give up bad habits, stop drinking alcohol. Naturally, your family must support you throughout the treatment.

Psychotherapy. A specialist will help you find out what causes the disease, help you cope with difficult emotions, survive stress, and teach you how to manage your own mood.

Note that if you have depression (bipolar disorder may coincide in symptoms with this mood), then it should also be treated by a psychiatrist. Prescribed drugs must be taken even when the mood stabilizes. Otherwise, the effect of therapy may disappear.

Unconventional methods

Bipolar manic disorder can be treated with other methods:

Acupuncture

Meditation.

- “Daytime” and “nighttime” therapy.

However, such methods are auxiliary.

Social consequences of the disease

Bipolar disorder,