Bipolar Disorder or
Manic Depression is witnessed by alternating
episodes of mania or depression. Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder are
seldom recognized by the patient at first, or even by their family,
friends, and doctors. In the early stages of the disorder, the symptoms
may mask themselves as some other problem or something other than
mental health problems. In fact, symptoms of bipolar disorder often
look like substance abuse or alcoholism or simply poor work
performance. If these symptoms go without treatment, bipolar disorder
gets worse and the individual will experience severe manic episodes and
extreme depression.
Bipolar depression typically shows onset in adolescence or early adult
years and it will continue through the remainder of life as there is no
known cure. Unfortunately, it is not often recognized as a
psychological disorder as it is an episodic disorder. Further, many
people will suffer from bipolar depression for years without realizing
they have a problem, and further, without seeking treatment.
While the disorder is life long, there is effective treatment available
for bipolar depression that will enable individuals to live normal,
healthy lives. Without this treatment, bipolar depression will take
over and negatively impact relationships, work situations, and may
result in substance and alcohol abuse or even suicide. The most
problematic treatment concern seems to be non-cooperation with
treatment of bipolar depression. The reason for this is many people
diagnosed with bipolar depression do not think their mania states
require treatment, so they will initially resist it. During a manic
state, the individual will report feeling very good and they will not
want the good feeling to end. This in turn results in judgment
problems. The mania states will then progress, clarity of thought
processes will diminish, grandiose thinking and self-inflated egos will
ensue, and problems in day to day life will develop.
The best treatment for bipolar depression is a combined effort of
psychotherapy and medication. Psychotherapy will focus on the life
adjustment issues that will inevitably arise from the manic states. It
will assist individuals in recognizing when a manic episode is about to
start, and how to take remedial action. This will also assist the
client in accepting they have a chronic mental health problem that
impacts the management of everyday life. Almost anyone affected by
bipolar depression can also receive a significant amount of
stabilization medication to control their mood swings. Lithium is
currently the most common medication of choice to control manic states,
and very often prevents the appearance of both mania and depression
states. An addition of antidepressants such as Prozac may also
alleviate the depression component of Bipolar Depression. Due to the
life long nature of bipolar depression, long term preventative
treatment courses that combine both psychotherapy and medication is
recommended. There is no reason to believe that with these treatments
the individual can not function with a perfectly normal life.