Bipolar Disorder

What is BPD?

Bipolar Disorder (BPD), also known as manic depression, is a mental disorder where a person gets mood swings from an intense anger level to a low depressive state. It causes the inability to go through daily tasks or maintain relationships. Nearly 3% of all adults in the United States have this disorder and it commonly occurs around the age of 25. Bipolar depression comes for weeks at a time, each interval lasting for at least half a month. There are two main types of episodes, and they are classified as either manic episodes or depressive episodes.

Symptoms

Each episode has generally different symptoms. A person experiencing manic episodes might be sleeping much less and feeling more alive and powerful whereas a person experiencing depressive episodes will feel unmotivated to do anything. Manic episodes also include a necessity for less sleep and appetite. On the other hand, depressive episodes will include a want for more sleep but insomnia as well. People will also experience weight gain and a larger appetite.

Treatment

Like every other mental disorder, BPD has no cure but there are available treatments to help with coping. The most important thing to take into consideration is that if you are diagnosed with BPD, you must start getting it treated as soon as possible. This is because people with BPD are usually late to realize how much the disorder emotionally and physically affects their daily lives until it is too late. A common source of treatment is from therapists. Psychotherapy involves talking out your feelings with an experienced professional who can attempt to identify the root problem and work with you to fix it. There are also many over-the-counter medications that are available, such as antidepressants or antipsychotics. Before taking any medications, speak to a health care worker to ensure that this is the best way to help. Medications all come with risks. Because of the new advancements in technology, there have been some new surgeries that can help with depression. Something less profound could be a brain stimulator which can mostly relieve symptoms as well.