Tag: Mental Disorders

Is Bipolar Disorder in Children and Adolescents Possible

If you’re seriously interested in knowing about bipolar, you need to think beyond the basics. This informative article takes a closer look at things you need to know about bipolar.

It runs in the family

With the above stated fact, it goes to fair that children and adolescents can acquire bipolar disorder if their parents or someone within the family is also suffering from the disease. More likely, children may adopt the illness but symptoms will show only when they have reached their adolescent stage.

Although, compared to adults who have the disorder and symptoms is more defined, diagnosing based on the evident manifestations through the behavior of children and adolescents are hastened and can be experienced almost every lifetime. Mood swings that include mania and depression can occur multiple times a day.

Children who experiences avidity are expected to be irritable and hold destructive tantrums that is caused by being joyful or elated. Symptoms of mixed episodes are common in adolescents or youths having the disorder. Older adolescents who have developed the illness have symptoms and episodes that are deeper notable in adults and are considered more classical.

Diagnosing bipolar disorder in children and adolescents is harder than with adults. Apart from mood swings that are obvious because of the unstable swinging of emotions caused by terms of growing maturing, being hyper and depressed is also considered normal and is within the range of children and adolescent behavior.

Furthermore, there are some symptoms that can also be associated with other disorders like the aggressiveness and irritability of a child constraint also be associated with ADHD or Attention Shortcoming Hyperactive Disorder, oppositional defiant disorder and other mental disorders. Drug abuse is also one factor that may originate congenerous symptoms which are not totally connected with the illness.

According to researches, the disorder may have the alternative to begin during childhood or teenage years but the exact diagnosis of the diseases can be proven upon adulthood. This mental illness amenability affect anyone most especially if that person is exposed to contributing risk factors.

Studies also uttered that when both parents manifest the illness, it has a greater chance due to their children to have the disorder. Alcohol and drug abuse through the history of the family can also act as considered because a contributing factor.

Symptoms in children and adolescents are almost the same with adults but some may differ and may be lighter.

Manic episodes may include the following:

Perfectionist increase in self – esteem ( a child perceiving that he is Superman )

Juicy distracted

Recur increased risk – taking attitude that may be associated with sexual promiscuity, alcohol and drug abuse, etc.

Ability to talk in a hastily – paced manner and at the same time talking too much

Increased energy and has the ability to go on for days without the appropriate amount of sleep

Depressive episodes include the following:

Persistent emotional disturbance like frequent outburst of attribute

Always in a depressed mood with blood of a bitch

Lack of enjoyment in usual activities

Poor concentration, boredom, fatigue and low energy level

Abrupt change in sleeping and eating patterns

Frequently complains about physical pains

Teenagers having bipolar disorder may have the greatest possibility to be treated compared to adults already manifesting the illness. Some of the major treatment modalities are medications that can used to stabilize the persons mood swings, educating the family and friends, and preventing depression. In order to treat the illness effectively, medical authorities must diagnose the disorder correctly.
The day will come when you can use something you read about here to have a beneficial impact. Then you’ll be glad you took the time to learn more about bipolar.

Panic Attack Medications Can You Live Without Them?

Medications, a quick fix solution, are the most common way out of panic attacks. They are, for sure, not the ultimate solution to all behavioral dysfunction and many people have become well without the aid of them. Nonetheless, they are still being prescribed for two reasonsbecause they work and because they are convenient.

But can people with panic attacks truly live normally without the medications? For those who believe in their capacity to help themselves intro treatment other than taking pills and tablets, they can. Sadly for those who are used to the idea of resorting to meds for cure, it may be a bit hard not to take them.

People who depend too heavily on medication for the alleviation of panic attack symptoms know for a fact that dependence will ultimately occur. Along with the possibility that they will not get cured of their behavioral condition, they also will create another problem for themselveshow to recover from dependence on the medication? This truth is perhaps further exacerbated by the fact that panic attack medications are not the typical over the counter drugs that one could easily get over with.

Oftentimes, these drugs (e.g. valium and antidepressants) are meant to cure serious cases of mental disorders. Eventually, the patients will no longer suffer from only one condition but two serious conditions. The bonus? The addiction adds and aggravates the unpleasant experiences accompanying panic attacks. This is the common experience of people who rely too much on laboratory-produced substances.

Apart from drug dependence, panic attack medications can also trigger side effects at varying degrees. Typical examples of side effects are slower reflexes, light headedness, lack of energy, nausea, dizziness, upset stomach, blurry vision, disorientation, memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, reduced brain activity, slurred speech and depression. Beyond the typical side effects, panic attack medications can also pose added risks overtime especially when certain combinations of medications are used.

Another problem that may be experienced are the paradoxical effects they could elicit. Paradoxical effects include those conditions that are excited by the use of specific medications which include irritability and anxiety at the less serious levels, and mania, aggression and hallucination at the more advanced stages.

Further, panic attack medications come with hefty price tagsnot really the best way of exacerbating your already serious behavioral disorder.

However, despite all the negativities surrounding panic attack medications, their effects should not be counted as entirely useless or dangerous. They were made to provide symptom relief and possible cure to start with. Thus, not all effects are bad. Nonetheless, it must be remembered that relief from the symptoms should not be entirely dependent on their effects. They must only be used when extremely necessary. Otherwise, these medications, which are by nature foreign chemicals, might destroy something in you that is beyond repairable.

The truth is, there are a number of ways to cure yourself from panic attacks apart from depending on medications to give you the solution. Behavioral therapies as well as cognitive approaches are among the best alternatives to drugs. Group and individual therapies are also good options. But despite all the promises of these therapies and treatments, if the person lacks the determination to take himself out of the grip of panic attacks, all these may prove useless.

Over the years, medical professionals and patients alike proved that only the person, the patient of panic attacks, could find the cure for his condition.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in Adolescents

Obsessive compulsive disorder or OCD starts from adolescence onwards. OCD is feeling of strong obsessions and compulsions which result in intense discomfort and affects daily functioning. Obsessions are thoughts which are persistent and recurrent. They even include unwanted images and impulses which lead to distress and anxiety. These feelings and thoughts are usually irrational or unrealistic. Compulsions are repetitive rituals or behavior such as checking something again & again, or mental acts such as counting. These obsessions & compulsions cause intense distress and anxiety and can interfere with the daily activities, relationships, social activities and academic functioning. The person with OCD thinks that he has no control over his actions. OCDs are relapsing and chronic illness.

The thoughts change as the adolescent grows. Younger children suffering from OCD often have thoughts of harm befalling on them and their family such as thief getting into the house through an unlocked door. This will make the children to recheck the door and windows again and again fearing that they might have left the door unlocked accidentally. Teenagers suffering from OCD fear that they might get fall sick due to germs, contaminated food and AIDS. The adolescent develops certain rituals, such as washing hands innumerable times, in order to get over the fear. These rituals help them to think that they have overcome the problem for the time being and give them temporary relief. If they do not perform these rituals, they become more and more anxious.

OCD is a sign of brain circuitrys unusual functioning and it involves the striatum part of the brain. The brain activity patterns of such people differ from normal people and people with other mental disorders. Researchers have concluded that OCD is usually a family problem and is a disorder of the brain. Streptococcal bacterial infection can create or worsen the condition of OCD. Adolescents with no family history of OCD can also develop it. Most of the adolescents feel embarrassed to talk about their OCDs. They think that people will label them as crazy and this will make them feel ashamed. This will make it difficult for the parents to talk to their children about their OCD, in order to solve them. Parents need to develop good communication skills for this purpose. Parents support is also very important to the adolescent. Cooperation is extremely important along with treatment, because if the problem is not treated the adolescent will grow into a disturbed adult.

Most of the adolescents with OCD can receive effective treatment. The treatment can include psychotherapy and intake of medications such as fluoxetine, clomipramine, fluvoxamine, paroxetine, sertraline and other serotonin reuptake inhibitors. When OCD is caused due to streptococcal infection, the adolescent can be administered with antibiotics to kill the bacterium which is causing it. Exposure and response prevention behavioral therapy is very useful in solving OCD. In this therapy, the adolescent is wontedly exposed to his/her fears which give him/her obsessive thought. After that he/she is trained to avoid these thoughts and the rituals which he/she carries out to tackle the anxiety.

An adolescent having OCD can also have depression, substance abuse, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, eating disorders, and other types of anxiety disorders. When a person with OCD and other mental illness, is treated, OCD becomes more difficult to treat and even diagnose.

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