Acquainting Yourself with Bipolar Disorder

This interesting article addresses some of the key issues regarding bipolar. A careful reading of this material could make a big difference in how you think about bipolar.

A person with bipolar disorder experiences the best and worst of both worlds. Like two – face from Batman. It can be a psychological disorder that progress without warning.

Imagine being confronted by a person with the happiest personality and then suddenly, without any reason, he diminishes to a lower aura and starts to cry.

The extremes that are associated with someone who is bipolar are ranging from an attitude of recklessness to listlessness. This kind of instability of moods can grow into a poker-faced problem that greatly affects the person who has the disorder and the people around him as well.

Other terms for this lucidity boggling disease are manic – depressive or manic – depression illness. Both extremes are experienced and exhibited by the person suffering from it.

Mood swings that are caused by this disorder can last for a couple of weeks or even months if not sold care of. This big of behavior can cause monster disturbance to the lives of friends, family and whoever is close to the person.

According to researches, there is a major occurrence of this uncontrolled behavior across variety of symptoms and can affect almost everyone in the group.

Sadly, this disease is not diagnosed accordingly which is not very helpful and most often, people misconstrued this kind of behavior as somewhat ordinary. Untreated, this attitude complication worsens and results to high tendencies of suicidal rates.

Although, if diagnosed and treated at an early stage, people who suffers from this disease can enjoy a life worth living.

What is the create of bipolar disorder?

Nowadays, the exact cause of the mood disorder is unknown. Although there are beliefs that it can be connected within the family down from their bloodline.

Usually, people who are diagnosed with the sickness tends to have a relative who further suffers from it as well or somewhat complementary conditions. Voguish science believes that other probable causes that can enter on someone to experience the disorder are:

Environmental effects. In some way, the persons environment can take the blame for suffering the psychological disease. Factors may include severe problems with peers, family, and the conforming; other elaborates the stressful situations that are surrounding the person. A loss of a loved one can also be unequaled of the environmental causes.

Chemical effects. Studies have shown the indications of chemical within the body made the power function differently. Significant changes may still be uncertain but in an final process, may help in pinpointing the causes. Hormonal imbalances and neurotransmitters are also being accepted as one of the chemical causes.

Based on statistical findings, there are about three million Americans who suffer from this psychological disorder. Individuals who experience this illness will experience humour swings that are extreme joined with multiple behaviors and symptoms. Mood swings are oftentimes categorized as depressive episodes, manic episodes and mixed episodes.

Depressive episode symptoms are:

Extreme feeling of sadness or emptiness Lack of cardinal energy Lack of interest in important things Decreased concentration Imaginary thoughts about suicide or dying

Manic episode symptoms are:

Elevation of extreme mood swings Extreme anxiousness and irritability Talking in a fastmanner Unusual energy increase with a reduced need to sleep

Mixed episode symptoms are basically the combination of the depressive and manic episode symptoms.

Bipolar disorder can be evident in teenagers although, licensed are studies showing cases prevalent in children and adults.
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.

Understanding Suicidal Tendencies through Bipolar Disorder

Have you ever wondered if what you know about bipolar is accurate? Consider the following paragraphs and compare what you know to the latest info on bipolar.

Before going into the rough details, well have a rerouting of ideas to know the main reasons why people who have bipolar disorder results in suicide.

First, there are generally two types of bipolar disorder which are: Bipolar I and Bipolar II. These two subtypes can be regarded due to symptoms which are appropriate basis for diagnosing the disease.

Bipolar Type I

In this occurrence, the person may at least have one or two manic episodes equivalent forfeit episodes of previous depression.

Bipolar Type II

The person requirement at least have an episode of depression and a hypomanic episode. Hypomanic episodes usually refer to a lesser and much briefer condition compared to a manic episode that lasts only for a few days and not at integral severe.

Hypomania episodes would be associated with elevated moods like fury and changes in everyday functioning that doesnt require hospitalization. Here, depression is much more longer than hypomania.

Cyclothymia

This is somewhat included in the type but is considered as the milder bipolar form. Compared to the extremes bipolar people are exhibiting, cyclothmia mood swings are moderate.

Psychosis

This is the time when bipolar becomes severe. The person undergoes episodes of delusions and hallucinations that detaches them from reality. Some goes into trust that they are someone or they see and hear things that, in reality, arent there.

With unabbreviated the things related to the disorder, it all goes down to one thing suicide. Because the person can no longer understand what is happening to him, his behavior is taking over his entire contour and is overwhelming his thoughts and feelings. And whereas the person believes that he is incapable of doing anything good, he commits suicide.

Suicide is a sin. But then again, it has become one of the most effective solutions to outrun every inconsistent problem that occurs in someones life. If someone in your family has already been diagnosed of the disorder, it is proper that the members of the family see to it that the person is taken care of.

Any thoughts of committing suicide must have immediate attention to rule out the idealism. It is advisable that the person seeks medical health. The risk for committing suicide will appear within the earlier constitutional of the illness.

To be able to diagnose if a person has suicidal tendencies, apart must observe signs and symptoms such as:

Inutile and helpless feelings

Thoughts about wanting to die or talking about the afterlife

Feels that he or nymph is just a burden for her family and friends

Abuses drugs and alcohol

Writing random good – bye notes

Organizing affairs like preparing for near death

Suicide is possible especially if you know someone who is suffering from an early stage of bipolar disorder. If you or anyone you knows who are feeling suicidal, bipolar or not, always find ways to rid of it like calling a doctor for advice and support, never leaving suicidal common people alone, and making sure that any access of harm that the person can use against himself is no where to be found.

It is important that one understands the different causes of the disorder in order to totally prevent the risk of suicidal attempts. Life is the most important everything to be taken care of. Its a pity to see it wasted.
Now might be a good time to write down the main points covered above. The act of putting it down on paper will help you remember what’s important about bipolar.

Offer Love and Conversation to the Alcoholic

If you live with an alcoholic, you want to offer love and conversation when they are not drinking. Trying this when they are drinking may be harder to do since you never know what their mood is or how they will react. You have to have an open line of communication even if the person is an alcoholic. You should not try talking about anything important when they are drinking, but engage is light conversation and leave the heavy discussions for when they are sober. Then you can have a friendly conversation. Just show them some love and hope that they like that better than what they get when they drink.

If the alcoholic is not a mean drunk, you can offer love. This of course depends on the mood of the alcoholic when he is drinking. Some alcoholics are mellow drunks, but even the mildest mannered alcoholic can switch moods just like that without warning. It can be like a roller coaster. One minute they can be sweet and loving and the next screaming at you because you said something that they did not like. This is a pattern with most alcoholics. You never know what you can say or do. It can change from day to day or even minute to minute.

When the alcoholic is not drinking, engage in conversation and try to touch on the drinking. This is the only time you have to discuss drinking. In most cases, they will tell you that they do not have a problem. They do not see it the same way that you do. You could point out a few things that they do when they drink and hope that they remember. You can tell them how it makes you feel when they have to drink all the time. It probably will not help them, but it can help you.

Explain that you want to care about them and do not want to see something bad happen. You can pour out your feelings and at least let them know how you feel, but chances are, they will only quick drinking for a few days and then start hiding it from you. This is common with alcoholics. If they know that you do not want them to drink, they will find ways to do it and hide it. It would not be uncommon to find empties in cupboards, down in the basement or out in the garage.

Talk about the future and things you would like to do. Make it clear that you want to enjoy a life with them, but you want them to be around for it. Make it clear that you are not really happy with the ways things are, but you would like to help make a change. Never tell them that they have to change, make it a change for both of you. You may not need to change, but telling them that is not going to mean a thing. You have to tell them that you will change with them.

Explain some of the health risks that you discovered. This may be one thing that could help. If they do not want to die at a young age, they may think about what you have to say. Of course, if they do not feel as if they have a problem, you could be talking to deaf ears. You can still try. Maybe if they see or feel some symptoms, they will think about what you said.

Try not to get upset or yell. Engage in a light conversation and if you feel yourself getting upset, take a moment to collect your thoughts. The last thing the alcoholic wants to do is listen to you yell at them. If you do not walk away and calm down, they might just leave and find somewhere to drink. This will defeat the purpose of your talk. You have to be on eggshells when you live with an alcoholic if you want to help them. You can be caring when you talk, but do not expect that in return from the alcoholic. That may come over time.

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Antidepressants And Their Side Effects

Antidepressant medications can often help depression sufferers. However, they do have side effects and some can be dangerous. Before starting any antidepressant medication, it is a good idea to consult with your doctor so you can weigh the benefits and the risks. Sometimes antidepressant meds are not the solution because of the side effects.

Depression is most often caused by lower levels of serotonin in the brain. Antidepressants raise these levels back to their state of normalcy. While it is true that there are many studies that contradict the theory of depression being caused by a chemical imbalance, they have yet to figure out exactly what is the cause.

Serotonin levels cannot be measured, so researchers do not know what a normal level is. All they know is that something causes the serotonin levels to decrease and there are drugs to reverse this. Some studies have shown that moods and depression do not always worsen when the individuals serotonin levels are reduced. Also in question is the fact that antidepressants take several weeks to start having an effect, yet it only takes a few hours for the same medications to raise serotonin levels. It would make sense that a depressed person should feel better in a few hours, not a few weeks.

Researchers are starting to realize that depression involves more than a chemical imbalance in the brain. While lower serotonin levels appear to be one of the causes, they are also finding that elevated stress levels, inflammation, nutritional deficiencies, shrinking brain cells, suppressing immune systems and abnormal activity in the brain are surfacing as causes. There are also many psychological and social factors that have an effect as well.

Antidepressant medication has proven to be effective when treating depression. It has also shown to cause side effects in approximately 50% of the people that take them. Medication should only be prescrib3ed when the symptoms of depression are severe. In most cases of mild depression, exercise, changes to diet, and therapy can work just as effectively.

The most prescribed types of antidepressants are called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). These medications are commonly known as Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa, Luvox, and Lexapro. SSRIs are responsible for increasing serotonin levels in the brain.

Serotonin is responsible for regulating mood and helps with pain, sleep, digestion, and mental clarity. Due to these roles, SSRIs come with a large range of side effects such as nausea, anxiety, insomnia, decreased sex drive, sweating, sleepiness, dizziness, dry mouth, headaches, and weight gain/loss. The most common of these side effects are lowered sex drive, sleepiness, insomnia, and nausea. These side effects usually go away within a few weeks. Sometimes though, they remain and even can get worse.

Some of the newer drugs on the market such as Wellbutrin and Effexor are called atypical antidepressants because they affect other neurotransmitters as well as serotonin. The side effects of these drugs are less severe and include nausea, fatigue, weight gain, nervousness, and dry mouth.

Regardless of which medication path the doctor prescribes, always weigh the benefits against the risks to make sure the chosen medication is right for you.