Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder also known as manic depression is a mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings which also include emotional highs (mania or hypomania) and lows (depression).

3 Main factors cause bipolar disorder in the brain.

• Genetics
• Brain or Neurotic Structure
• Environmental Factors

Psychotherapy is also the most common and effective treatment for bipolar disorder. It includes:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy is ‘talk therapy’ where the patient talks about the symptoms with a trained practitioner and learns about his condition to try and understands his thought patterns and learn coping strategies.
• Psychoeducation is trying to understand bipolar disorder and possible treatment which also helps in the long run.
• One can notice or recognize the disorder in early stages in other people and help them too with their own experiences and coping methods.

Here are 7 signs of bipolar disorder.

• Depressed mood
• Weight loss
• Either insomnia or sleeping too much
• Fatigue or loss of energy
• Suicidal Thoughts
• Feeling inappropriate guilt
• Indecisiveness

Bipolar I includes shifts in moods that are abnormal to the person’s usual behavior which can last for a whole day in bipolar disorder.

The severe manic episodes along with psychosis in which it is difficult to differentiate between reality and what is not real are called mania and the person being diagnosed with Bipolar I.