I. What is bipolar disorder
It is a mood disorder. Patients show high and low moods, different from the emotional ups and downs of ordinary people. When the illness is severe, it can make the patient have difficulties in family, work, study or social life, and even cause suicide.
II. What are the causes
There is no single cause. Family health history, brain chemistry plays an important role in constituting the disease. Individual personality and mental stress may also trigger the disease.
Third, what are the symptoms
Patients can have extreme changes in mood, which can range from high mood to low mood, with a period of normalcy between episodes. Patients may experience the following changes.
High mood (can be only partially symptomatic).
Great mood and increased activity.
High energy, thinking too much and too fast.
Talking more, or faster, than usual.
Sleeping less without feeling tired.
Poor judgment, reduced self-control, and a penchant for spending money.
Exaggerating one’s abilities, etc.
Low mood (can be only partially symptomatic).
Feeling sad —- crying for no clear reason.
Feeling of despair or emptiness.
Feeling guilty or feeling worthless.
Loss of former pleasures.
Decreased energy or feeling tired.
Getting too much or not enough sleep.
Eating more or less than before.
Even thinking about suicide.
IV. What treatments are available
Standard treatment can produce a good response. Since relapses often occur, treatment must be ongoing. There should be a mixture of medication (emotional stabilizers, etc.) and psychotherapy (learning to control stress, etc.). Sometimes it is necessary to change and adjust the treatment (type and dosage of medication.)
Also, support from family, friends, psychotherapy and self-help groups is helpful.