Tag: counseling

The Horrors Of Eating Disorders

You cant seem to make up your mind, you eat and eat and then you hide a purge or you starve yourself for weeks until you are at the lowest weight that you have ever been in your life. Anorexia and bulimia used to be considered the health problems of some confused young girls with troubled lives real or perceived. Lately doctors have found that more and more women are being diagnosed with an eating disorder of some kind. Other misconceptions about eating disorders are that people think that they are psychological problems that can be treated with medication easily and then the person is cured for life. Neither is true. In fact, this disorder is not easily treated and the person is left to deal with it affects throughout their lives. Doctors believe that hormonal variations occurring near the menopause of a woman may be the reason the eating disorder developed such late in life.

These women see themselves as being overweight despite the fact that they are extremely thin. These women developing strange eating rituals or eat and regurgitating over and over again. Body dissatisfaction is the main focus of these women. For unknown reasons they cant seem to become comfortable in their own skin. They often believe that their behaviors are secret and no one notices or cares enough to pay attention. The idea that middle-aged women are having this problem is troubling to physicians as they work hard to try and prevent the disorder in young women. However, doctors cant be sure if the middle aged women that are receiving treatment are new to the disorder. The thought is that they had these problems when they were very young and as they got older realized that they should seek treatment. Complicating things is that these women are finding it difficult to locate proper treatment because for so long the focus was put on the younger woman. The women that are suffering from anorexia and/or bulimia many times suffer from perfectionism, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and anxiety. Substance abuse issues also many times play a role in many cases of both younger and older women. The most memorable and recent case occurred with a South American woman, a 24 year old teacher weighting only 77 pounds at 5 foot 2 inch tall when she passed away.

You or someone close to you might be suffering from this condition. It is a very harmful thing to suffer from, and if you suspect that someone is having trouble with an eating disorder then you should immediately take action to intervene. Do it in a graceful way so that the victim knows that you are looking out for her best interests. But dont let it go on for any longer than it has to. Therapists are the most common way to deal with eating disorders, but there are also entire camps and seminars devoted to getting the victims back to regular eating habits.

The treatments include therapy, medication, and counseling and more counseling. Some others treatments tried are yoga. Studies have tried to link the two yoga and anorexia but studies were inconclusive and did not produce any significant changes in behavior or eating habits. Dissonance based therapy which works as therapy and counseling aimed at the persons competing ideas. There are group meetings and other more intensive therapies for those with severely dangerous cases of anorexia and/or bulimia. Many women have been able to make positive life changes to battle their self inflicted disorder and go on to live healthier lives. It has been reported that these women will have to battle the urges and cravings to purge or starve themselves for the rest of their lives. Since no cures exist for this disorder it is the hope of therapist and people suffering anorexia and/or bulimia, that some kind of definitive preventive measures can be developed or found.

About Bipolar Affective Disorder

Bipolar affective disorder, also known as bipolar disorder or manic depression, is a mental illness in which the patient has mood swings or mood cycling. The mood cycles between depression, mania, and normal behaviors. Depression episodes are typically accompanied by extreme sadness and feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness, decreased energy, and sleeping too much. Manic episodes are typically accompanied by extreme happiness, inability to sleep, increased energy, racing thoughts, and distractibility. Mixed episodes, in which the patient shows symptoms of both mania and depression at the same time, can also occur.

Bipolar affective disorder is caused by a combination of neurological, biological, emotional, and environmental factors. The true causes of bipolar affective disorder are not fully understood. However, researchers and doctors are continually making advances in this area.

There are two types of bipolar affective disorder. The first type involves an almost constant state of minor mania, with alternating periods of extreme mania and depression. The second type of bipolar affective disorder involves an almost constant state of depression, alternating with small, minor bouts of mania.

Before bipolar affective disorder was fully understood, people with the first type of the illness were often misdiagnosed as schizophrenic. This is due to the fact that many with type one bipolar affective disorder have tendencies to lose touch with reality, have hallucinations, or have delusions during more severe manic phases.

The second type of bipolar affective disorder is often misdiagnosed as clinical depression. This is because the patient is most often depressed, and does not complain about being happy during their manic episodes. The diagnoses is usually corrected after medication treatment has begun for depression. Anti-depressants used with bipolar patients tend to throw the patient into a manic phase. If this happens, the doctor will immediately realize their error and switch the patient to a mood stabilizer.

There are many treatment options for bipolar affective disorder. The most common treatment for bipolar affective disorder is a combination of medication and therapy, or counseling. Medication options include mood stabilizers, anti-depressants, and anti-psychotics. Therapy options include traditional counseling methods, cognitive behavioral therapy, emotive behavioral therapy, and rational behavioral therapy. CBT, EBT, and RBT are fairly new forms of bipolar affective disorder therapy treatments, that have been found to be extremely successful. Patients who are not candidates for medication can often have successful results with CBT, EBT, or RBT therapy alone.

While bipolar affective disorder is not a new illness, there is still very little known about the subject. As doctors and researchers learn more about the brain and how it functions, the more likely a cure for bipolar affective disorder will be found. In the meantime, people who feel that they may show symptoms of bipolar affective disorder should contact a mental health professional for diagnosis and treatment options. Family or friends who notice these symptoms in others should also seek to help that person find help for their mental illness. Bipolar affective disorder does not have to control your life, if you are willing to undergo treatment to control it.

About Bipolar II Disorder

Bipolar disorder is also known as manic depressive disorder. It is a mental illness that presents itself as mood swings or mood cycling. Many people do not realize that there are actually two types of bipolar disorder. Bipolar I disorder is typically defined as raging mood cycling with episodes of extreme mania and depression, as well as the occasional mixed episode. Bipolar I patients may also experience psychotic or hallucinating symptoms.

Bipolar II disorder is typically defined as rapid mood cycling with episodes of hypomania and depression. Bipolar II disorder does not occur with psychotic or hallucinating symptoms. Additionally, hypomania is defined as a milder form of mania, in which the patient has a period of hightened happiness or elation. Depression with bipolar II patients is often more severe than in patients with bipolar I disorder. Suicide, suicide threats, suicide attempts, and thoughts of suicide are much more common in bipolar II patients than bipolar I patients.

A diagnosis of bipolar II disorder is typically made when the patient has had one or more major depressive episodes, at least one hypomania episode, no manic episodes, and when no other reason for symptoms can be found.

Symptoms of depression with bipolar II disorder include decreased energy, unexplained weight changes, feelings of despair, increased irritability, and uncontrollable crying. Symptoms of hypomania include sleeplessness, racing thoughts, distractibility, excess energy, and rash judgements. These symptoms are similar to mania, but are less severe.

Treatment of bipolar II disorder typically involves a combination of medication and therapy or counseling. Medications typically prescribed for treatment of bipolar II disorder include anti-depressants such as Celexa, as well as mood stabilizers such as Topomax. Mood stabilizers are vitally important in treatment of bipolar disorders, because antidepressants alone can cause the patient to enter into a manic or hypomania episode.

Bipolar II disorder is actually often misdiagnosed as clinical depression. This is due to the fact that depression is most often present, and hypomania episodes rarely come to light in therapy sessions due to their upbeat nature. It is typically through treatment by antidepressants that the correct diagnosis is made, because the patient will spin into a hypomania episode almost immediately if the diagnosis should be bipolar II disorder rather than clinical depression.

Counseling or therapy treatment options for bipolar II disorder may include traditional counseling methods, discussion of triggers and life style changes that can lessen the severity of episodes, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Patients with a mild case of bipolar II disorder may benefit from counseling or therapy alone without medication. However, this is less common with bipolar II disorder than with bipolar I disorder, due to the nature of the severity of the depressive states.

It is vitally important for people with symptoms of bipolar II disorder to seek the help of mental health professionals as soon as symptoms become evident. Bipolar II disorder patients account for at least half of the suicides each year. To prevent suicidal behavior, it is important for bipolar II patients to be properly diagnosed at an early stage, so that ongoing treatment of the illness can begin and be continued in order to avoid suicidal behavior.

Treatments for Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder, or manic depression, is a mental illness which causes mood swings and mood cycling. Mood cycling refers to the transition between mania and depression. Mania, or manic episodes, typically consist of feelings of elation and invincibility, and cause disorientation, lack of sleep, and obsessive behaviors. Depression typically consists of feelings of overwhelming sadness and low self worth.

There are many treatments available for bipolar disorder, ranging from medications to therapy. There are too many medications to be discussed here in depth. There are also many forms therapy can take, and techniques that can be learned to assist the patient in gaining some control over their bipolar disorder.

Typically, bipolar disorder is treated with more than one medication. This is due to the dual nature of bipolar disorder. Most patients need at least two medications: one to control depression and one to control mania. The combination of these two types of medication works to obtain balance in moods and stop mood cycling. Often, a third medication, called a mood stabilizer, is also prescribed. The most common mood stabilizer is Topomax.

Popular medications for treatment of mania in bipolar patients include lithium, valproate (Depakote), carbamazepine (Tegretol), olanzapine (Zyprexa), and ziprasidone (Geodon). Lithium has long been considered the miracle drug of bipolar disorder. It is a sodium based medication that helps to balance the chemical imbalance in the brain that causes manic episodes in bipolar patients.

Valproate, or Depakote, was originally developed as a seizure medication. However, its effects on bipolar patients who have rapid cycling bipolar (moods that cycle every few hours or days rather than weeks or months), it has been quite effective. Carbamazepine, or Tegretol, is another anti-seizure medication. While it appears to have similar effects on bipolar disorder as Depakote, it has not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as a bipolar disorder treatment.

Olanzapine, or Zyprexa, and Ziprasidone, or Geodon, are both anti-psychotic drugs, and are particularly effective for treatment of bipolar disorder in which mania becomes so severe that psychotic symptoms are present.

Medications for treatment of depression are called anti-depressants. Common anti-depressants include citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil), and sertraline (Zoloft). All of these medications have been proven to be successful treatments for depression, although Celexa and Prozac are the most commonly prescribed.

Typically, treatment of bipolar disorder includes a combination of medications and therapy, or counseling. However, in some cases, medication may not be necessary for milder cases of bipolar disorder. In other cases, medication may not be desired by the patient, and the patient may wish to seek out other alternatives to medication for treatment of their bipolar disorder.

For these patients, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can be quite effective. CBT is a method of bipolar disorder treatment that involves teaching the patient techniques to recognize triggers and symptoms of their mood cycling, and use that information and recognition to prevent the triggers from occurring, or the mood cycling from being quite as severe. Most of these techniques require the patient to develop cognitive thinking skills as well as critical thinking and problem solving capabilities. If the bipolar disorder is severe to the point that the patient is unable to engage in these thinking abilities and skills, CBT may not be a viable form of treatment in and of itself.

Overall, there are many treatments available for bipolar disorder. There are many options for the patient that can be discussed with the patient’s doctors. If a patient is not satisfied with the form their treatment is taking, they should discuss it with their doctor, and not be afraid to change doctors in order to change treatment methods. All in all, effective and successful treatment of bipolar disorder rests in the hands of the patient.