Dealing with Bipolar Disorder: Symptoms
The earliest and most common bipolar disorder symptoms are mood swings, from mild to severe, but always unpredictable. There are two phases of the disease:
1) Bipolar mania (hypomania)
• Extreme irritability
• Sudden euphoria
• High energy levels
• Restlessness
• Racing thoughts and rapid speech
• Increased self-esteem
• Impulsive behavior, uncontrollable shopping sprees, sudden decisions to travel, high-risk decisions, increased sex drive and promiscuity, speeding
2) Bipolar depression (major depression)
• Feeling of depression
• Low self-esteem
• Decreased energy levels, apathy and indifference
• Suicidal plans and thoughts
• Trouble concentrating
• Helplessness, guilt and sadness
• Insomnia or oversleeping
• Slow speech, fatigue and poor coordination
• Lack of interest in anything
Although this is a psychological condition, it can cause serious material consequences: uncontrollable shopping sprees can be devastating to the family budget; speeding can result in a fatal outcome; while alcohol abuse can create other health problems. Loss of sleep and increased levels of energy may be interpreted as the earliest bipolar disorder symptoms. Early diagnosis of bipolar disorder is crucial as it may prevent the development of serious psychological complications.
As many people can’t tell the difference between depression and bipolar disorder, they are often underdiagnosed. This is also due to the fact that many people are afraid to acknowledge they have mental problems, which prevents even the most qualified professionals from diagnosing bipolar disorder. It has been estimated that in as many as three fourths of cases people with real problems do not receive appropriate treatment.
There is a special list of criteria that can be applied to define whether the disorder is present or not. The doctor is usually interested in the family history of this disorder, any cases of suicidal thoughts or attempts, frequency of mood swings and so on. It’s also important to rule out the conditions that can be easily confused with bipolar disorder symptoms, such as ADD (attention deficit disorder), dementia, schizoaffective disorder and other states. Certain factors, such as alcohol and drug abuse, can make the diagnosis of bipolar disorder quite difficult. Therefore, treating drug and alcohol abuse becomes a priority; dealing with these problems is necessary to reduce the probability of suicidal thoughts in the patient.
Before actually dealing with bipolar disorder, the doctor needs to examine the patient and analyze the patient’s blood and urine tests to establish whether certain methods of treatment should be excluded. There is also a special thyroid analysis aimed at preventing complications when the treatment begins (hyperthyroidism can resemble mania, and lithium – the drug used for bipolar symptoms – can result in impaired kidney function). Frequent visits to the doctor may be required during the period of treatment, as he or she needs to make sure the levels of the drugs are high enough for effectively dealing with bipolar disorder.
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