Bipolar disorder, also called a manic-depressive illness, is a common disorder which causes mood swings, lasting periods of depression, and episodes of mania. “Extreme changes in energy, activity, sleep, and behavior go along with these changes in mood” (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2008). A person becomes more goal-oriented and has grandeur visions of success. Patient M shows all these symptoms while talking to her friends and professors in college. She describes herself as a person who is above the two standard genders, what she calls a “third sex”, and who switched souls with a senior senator from her state. The latter belief inspires her to start a political campaign and achieve a high position in the government. She also suffered from depression in the past, which lead to contemplations about suicide at one point. Besides showing all appropriate symptoms, her environmental and inheritance factors point out that she has predispositions to develop the bipolar disorder. According to the Center for Clinical Interventions (n.d.), “There are a number of factors that interact with each other that may contribute to the development of this disorder in some people”. The factors can be both environmental and genetic. Although genetic factors are considered the most important for the bipolar disorder development, “episodes that develop after the first one appear to be more heavily influenced by environmental stress, sleep disruption, alcohol and substance abuse, inconsistent drug treatments, and other genetic, biological, or environmental factors” (Milkowitz, 2010, p. 74). Patient M had already suffered two similar episodes of strange behavior and her family history includes mood disorders concerning states of depression... ... middle of paper ... ... would suggest is sleeping medication because she has not slept for five days, so her sleep needs to be taken care of first. Family-focused therapy will be necessary to solve the environmental influences that shaped her while she was a child, particularly the rules imposed on her by her parents. It will improve her relationship and communication with her parents. However, it would be a better option to start with interpersonal and social rhythm first. That way, she would establish a schedule that could improve her sleep, cognition, and social relationships. Since this is not the first time this kind of behavior has occurred in her life, she needs to sort it out before starting family-focused therapy. She needs to have clear cognition and proper reasoning before solving the environmental issues her parents had created with their over-demanding and overprotective rules.
disorder by taking her away for the summer and placing her in an old house
Bipolar Disorder (Formerly known as Manic Depression) is a mental illness linked to alterations in moods such as mood swings, mania, and depression. There is more than one type, Bipolar I and Bipolar II, and the subcategories are divided by the severity of the symptoms seen, such as cyclothymic disorder, seasonal mood changes, rapid cycling disorder and psychosis. Age of onset usually occurs between 15-30 years old with an average onset of 25 years old but it can affect all ages. (Harvard Medical School; Massachusetts General Hospital , 2013) Bipolar disorder affects more than two million people in the United States every year. (Gardner, 2011)
Bipolar does not have a specific cause it is a complex disorder with multiple contributing factors one is genetic. Sometimes bipolar tends to run in peoples families. Another factor is biological.
-Healy David. Mania: A Short History of Bipolar Disorder. The John Hopkins University Press. Baltimore. 2008. Print
Several theories exist as to what might lead a person to develop bipolar disorder. In Virginia Woolf's case, many scholars related her illness to childhood sexual abuse by her older stepbrothers, on the basis of Freudian theory (Carmango, 1992). Uebelacker (2006) researches correlations between family functioning and the course of bipolar disorder and finds that stable family relationships would likely make it easier for bipolar family members to manage their symptoms. In Woolf's case, family problems may have played a major role, not in the development of her disease, but in the onsets of her episodes (Carmango, 1992). A person’s environmental forces do not cause bipolar disorder.
Crowe, M. (2011). Feeling out of control: A qualitative analysis of the impact of bipolar
Lastly, there is family therapy, and in my opinion the most important. This is essential for both the patient and members of their family to understand and learn how to cope with this behavior. This style of therapy will teach family members not to be co-dependent and allow the patient to take responsibility for their actions.
Since the arrival of our twins undesirable behavior has manifested in one of our 11 yr. old. While initially very conscienscious in helping attend to the infants & her ordinary duties, she has become accustomed to playing with them mostly now. This play in itself is great, except they no longer get the changing & feeding expected. Furthermore she uses them as an excuse now to put off doing the minimal domestic maintenance formerly performed. She is generally unresponsive to negative reinforcement options. Past experience shows she responds best to tactile & humanistic behaviorist techniques, backed up by specific instruction from our sacred texts observed in our household.
Bipolar disorder is phychatric disorder in which there are periods of sadness and happiness. Some factors that can lead to bipolar are genetics, neurotransmitters, and brain function and structure. Things that can trigger your bipolar are medicines, the change of seasons, lack of sleep, abuse of substances, and stress.
For the future, a yearlong study of at least 10 bipolar drugs are being conducted and compared to figure out the best combinations (Kluger and Song, 2002). Brain scans are also being completed to determine which lobes and regions are involved in Bipolar Disorder (Kluger and Song, 2002). A blood test that allows bipolar disorder to be spotted just as simply as high cholesterol is a process in the making (Kluger and Song, 2002). A blood test will finally eliminate years of incorrect diagnoses, along with misguided treatments (Kluger and Song, 2002).
The severe mood fluctuations of bipolar or manic-depressive disorders have been around since the 16-century and affect little more than 2% of the population in both sexes, all races, and all parts of the world (Harmon 3). Researchers think that the cause is genetic, but it is still unknown. The one fact of which we are painfully aware of is that bipolar disorder severely undermines its victims ability to obtain and maintain social and occupational success. Because the symptoms of bipolar disorder are so debilitation, it is crucial that we search for possible treatments and cures.
Paris, J. (2004), Psychiatric diagnosis and the bipolar spectrum, in Canadian Psychiatric Association Bulletin, viewed on 28 March 2014, http://ww1.cpa-apc.org:8080/publications/bulletin/currentjune/editorialEn.asp.
4) Manic-Depressive & Depressive Association of Boston, an article discussing the genetics of bipolar disorder.
Bipolar disorder is the condition in which one’s mood switches from periods of extreme highs known as manias to periods of extreme lows known as depression. The name bipolar comes from the root words bi (meaning two) and polar (meaning opposite) (Peacock, 2000). Though often bipolar disorder is developed in a person’s late teens to early adulthood; bipolar disorder’s early symptoms can sometimes be found in young children or may develop later on in life (National Institutes of, 2008). Bipolar disorder has been found to affect both men and women equally. Currently the exact cause of bipolar disorder is not yet known, however it has been found to occur most often in the relatives of people diagnosed with bipolar disorder (National Center for, 2010).
The film, Of Two Minds, is based on real life accounts of individuals living with bipolar disorder. Before watching this film, I had an idea of what bipolar disorder is , but after viewing this film I was completely mistaken. Previously, I thought being bipolar was going from a “normal” mood to an angry or sad mood in a matter of seconds and could be simply fixed by taking medicine. But my previous thoughts were completely wrong and bipolar disorder is very serious and complicated. I didn’t know the severity of this disease and I think a lot of the general public is uneducated about bipolar disorder as well as mental illness. Terri Cheney describes having bipolar disorder as, “Take the best day you ever had and multiply it by a million, it 's like a flu but one hundred times worse. It 's having flu in your mind."