ADHD

Childhood Treatment Options for Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder, or manic depression, has in past years only been found in adults, while children with similar symptoms have been mistakenly diagnosed as have attention deficit disorder (ADD), or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, in recent years, psychiatrists and pediatricians have found that bipolar disorder definitely rears its ugly head in childhood as often as it does in adolescent or adult years.

Diagnosis of bipolar in childhood increases the chances for bipolar patients to have successful treatment and ordinary, uninhibited lives as adults. However, treatment options of bipolar in childhood is a controversial subject. Many doctors wish to medicate first, and regulate with therapy in addition to medications. However, many parents and some psychologists disagree with these methods.

Overall, many parents discover that once their child has been put on bipolar medications, the child seems to lose some of their personality traits that endear them to the parents. Children, and adults, who have been overly medicated or medicated when not absolutely necessary lose a sense of who they are. Some medications can make children overly despondent, seeming “out of it” or “spacey.” This causes concern for parents and doctors, and raises the question of whether or not the child is really better off on medication.

Play therapy can be quite effective in helping children with bipolar disorder live more successful childhoods. This play therapy typically involves placing children in various hypothetical situations in which they must work out a logical and emotionally healthy solution. While play therapy is very successful in some children, it is not enough for others. In certain childhood cases of bipolar disorder, the mood swings and symptoms are so severe that the child is not able to control their actions or emotional reactions to stimuli and situations.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a fairly new method of therapy for bipolar patients in which the patient learns to recognize symptoms of their illness, triggers for mood swings and inappropriate behavior, and alternatives to inappropriate behavior. Cognitive behavioral therapy also allows the patient to discover what he or she can do to avoid manic or depressive episodes, and how to manage the episodes more effectively. In adults, this treatment option is very viable, and works well both in conjunction with and without medication treatment.

However, cognitive behavioral therapy requires a level of problem solving and critical thinking that is not often present in childhood. For this reason, it is not commonly used in children with bipolar disorder under a certain age or maturity level. Some believe that the techniques learned through cognitive behavioral therapy could be equally viable in treating childhood bipolar disorder if the exercises and learning could be geared toward children. This, however, could prove difficult.

In the end, treatment options must be discussed with pediatricians, psychiatrists, psychologists, parents, and teachers. Everyone involved in childhood must be involved in the treatment process in order for it to be successful. If a parent or teacher has concerns about the effects of childhood treatment for bipolar disorder in their child or student, those concerns should be expressed immediately so that changes in treatment can be made. Additionally, parents should not be afraid to change doctors if they feel their child is not benefiting from treatment or medication.

Bipolar Disorder in Children

Bipolar disorder is a being diagnosed in children as young as six years old in recent years. Some doctors think this is a good assessment of many children while others think the diagnosis is overdone. While it may be just an intellectual controversy to some, others who know a child who may have bipolar disorder will not be amused. It is important therefore to take into account all the facets of the disorder.

It is a tricky diagnosis to say the least. Bipolar disorder in children often appears similar to ADHD, or as simply rambunctious childhood behavior. Young children may cycle fast, meaning that they go from a depressed state to a manic state and back, etc. very quickly, often within weeks or even days.

Suicide attempts often happen on the spur of the moment, with little or no warning. This is different than in most adults where the depression is often long-lasting and suicide attempts may be well thought-out. For this reason it is imperative that children with the disorder be treated successfully.

Bipolar disorder in children often presents in mania. In the younger children this is often likely to come with hallucinations, both auditory and visual. It may seem that these would be difficult to distinguish from a healthy imagination. Sometimes, in fact, it is. Many times, though, the visions and voices are more disturbing and threatening than a healthy child would imagine.

Teens with bipolar disorder are, for the most part, similar in their symptoms to adults. A major complicating factor with teens is the use of drugs and alcohol. As with adults, this practice of trying to use street drugs and alcohol to control mood swings, is called “self-medicating.” It is a dangerous business and often masks the symptoms of the disorder. Bipolar disorder in children should always be considered when drugs are being used by them, if only to rule it out.

Bipolar disorder in children who are older, such as teenagers, is still different from the adult disorder in that the person with the disorder is still a minor. This leads to situations where the older child has an adversarial relationship with authorities and is therefore hard to convince that treatment is a good thing.

There are some ways to cut down on the confusion. Speaking with the child’s teachers gives an outside opinion of how the child is doing day-to-day. Also, this shows how the child fares in a different setting from the home environment. Bipolar disorder in children, if it is masquerading as some other form of disorder or behavior, is more likely to be found out if more people are alert to its symptoms.

Getting a second opinion is also very important, since so many doctors disagree on bipolar disorder in children. Once the second opinion is obtained, the family can make a more informed decision as to what the problem is and how to proceed. Doctors may not all agree on bipolar disorder in children, but a second opinion should help to clarify the situation. The parent or guardian can listen carefully and determine if the doctor’s explanation sounds accurate. Then, ultimately, it is the parents’ job to make the call. Misdiagnosis and wrong treatment would be unthinkable, but if bipolar disorder in children is the correct diagnosis, it is surely better to accept it.

ADHD is an illness that starts in childhood. A child with ADHD has trouble sitting still, doesnt finish things that they begin and usually acts without first thinking things through. This is a real illness that can change the way your child acts, feels, or thinks at times. There are many different treatments for ADHD, drugs being just one of them. In fact, drugs should always be a last resort that is almost never used (when in fact quite the opposite is true today).

You will notice that a child with ADHD may fidget, or wiggle a lot more than usual when asked to sit still or even without thinking. Some seem to be daydreaming, all of which are signs that the child may be ADHD. When these behaviors interfere with the childs ability to concentrate in school or make public outings dangerous for the child or make making friends difficult then there is cause for alarm and the child should be tested for ADHD. Parents may have a difficult time figuring out what to do with the child or may not even have the slightest idea of what to do.

Parents may think that some of these behaviors are normal for any child and may be in denial about their childs condition. The good news is that it is an illness that can be treated effectively and can make the child feel much better about them. How the child feels about themselves is very important because increasing the childs self esteem will essential to treatment. The child may feel like a failure, when they definitely are not. A common childhood illness, ADHD can be controlled and the child may even grow out of it eventually, as he or she begins to mentally mature and the symptoms simply disappear.

The causes of the illness are not yet definitely known but it is known that it usually runs in families. Some doctors believe that there is not one single factor but combinations of factors that may contribute to the illness. So, if you are worried about your childs behavior, you should take your child for a simple evaluation. Your child will not be immediately diagnosed with ADHD but will be checked for all possible answers to the problem. The possibility does exist that the child may have other problems that cause them to behave the way that they have. Other conditions can be mistaken for ADHD easily. It may even just be a bad diet or a lack of sleep that is causing poor brain functioning.

If it is found that the child does not have any other problems then it may be diagnosed that the child does in fact have an attention deficit disorder that needs treatment. Behavior therapy may be recommended. This involves meeting with doctors to work with your child on skills to help improve the problem. Working on building relationships, rules, limits, land choices. Medication may be prescribed as an accompanying aid to behavior treatments. The very best results are possible when these things are worked on together. So, it is extremely important that you take action, not be in denial, and to realize that it is not your fault that your child has this problem. Treatments are necessary and help from a qualified physician should be sought as soon as possible.

Panic Attacks — Signs of Vulnerability

Panic attacks do not come from nowhere, though the possibility of them coming out of the blue cannot be discounted. Nonetheless, there is always that something that triggers the occurrence of such attacks. Experts believe that the causes are multi-factorial and pre-disposing factors are many. Included are the following:

Genetics. Panic attacks run in the family. If you great grandfather had it, there is a relative possibility that you might develop the disorder as well. In typical cases, those people who have relatives with panic attacks are twice more likely to experience either acute or chronic but intermittent episodes of panic disorder than normal people. Nonetheless, there are people who have family history of panic attacks that do not develop the disorder.

Medical causes. There are several medical conditions that could allow for the development of panic disorder and panic attacks. Among them are mitral valve prolapse, hypoglycemia, hyperthyroidism, abrupt withdrawal from medication usage, and use of stimulants. Mitral valve prolapse, otherwise known as MVP, is a heart disease that affects the mitral valves, the part of the heart that prevents the backflow of blood. The symptoms of this disease are shortness of breath and chest pain along with others. Not only do these symptoms resemble those of panic attacks but research by the American Heart Association confirmed that there is a direct link between MVP and panic attacks.

Hypoglycemia, on the other hand, is a condition characterized by a lower level of blood glucose. Meanwhile, hyperthyroidism is also a condition that is somehow linked with panic attacks. This condition is marked by the overproduction of thyroid hormones namely T3 and T4 hormones. Abrupt withdrawal from certain medications is also believed to be a cause of panic attacks since this triggers sudden changes in the body. Another factor that may lead to the development of panic attacks is the use of stimulant substances such as beverages with high caffeine content and marijuana.

Medications. The body’s reaction to foreign materials with medical properties is not always necessarily positive. There are cases when the substances found in the drugs produce the right conditions in the body conducive to the arousal of panic attacks. For example, methylphenidate which is more commonly known as Ritalin is used for patients of ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder as well as narcolepsy could cause panic attacks for some people.

Gender. This seems to be a predisposing factor towards the development of panic disorder. According to studies females are 50% more likely than their counterparts to develop the disorder.

Major life events. Substantial events in life that lead to extreme changes can create the right environments for the occurrence of panic attacks. This may be because such drastic changes create tensions in the homeostasis of a person’s life, thus upsetting the previous order of things and forcing the person to confront the changes. If the person fails to respond accordingly, the tension may persist and he might be overcome by it. Thus, producing a number of symptoms that could be characterized under psychological disorders, panic attacks included.

Phobias. Although the statistics are not established yet, it seems clear that people who have severe cases of phobias are more susceptible to developing panic disorders. This could be due to the fact that phobias cause elevated levels of fear to start with.