Major Ups and Downs
Bipolar Disorder Brings Extreme Mood Swings
Condensed From National
Institutes of Health Newsletter
Most people feel happy and energized on some days
and less so on others. But if these mood changes
last for a week or more and are severe—making it
hard for you to sleep, stay focused or go to work—it
may be a sign of bipolar disorder. Not only can
bipolar disorder damage relationships, affect your
grades and make it hard to keep a job; it can also
be dangerous.
People with bipolar disorder—also called
manic-depressive illness—go through extreme changes
in mood, energy and behavior. These “mood episodes”
can continue for a week or 2, and sometimes longer,
with symptoms lasting every day for most of the day.
Sometimes people with bipolar disorder become
very sad and much less active. They have trouble
concentrating, forget things and lose interest in
fun activities. They may try to hurt or even kill
themselves. This is called depression.
People with bipolar disorder also go through
periods of feeling unusually happy. They become more
energetic and active than usual. They become
impulsive and take great risks. They might do things
that make them lose their jobs, their spouse or all
their money. This is called mania. “They don’t see
the consequences of their behaviors,” explains Dr.
Carlos A. Zarate of NIH’s National Institute of
Mental Health (NIMH). “Or they do see it but they
don’t care.”
Bipolar disorder is fairly common, but it’s
difficult to tell exactly how widespread it is.
“There are a variety of illnesses that are similar
to bipolar disorder, but with less severe upswings,”
says NIMH’s Dr. Francis J. McMahon. Researchers
estimate that bipolar disorder affects nearly 6
million American adults in a given year.
Children and teens can also have bipolar
disorder. Dr. Ellen Leibenluft, whose work
focuses on children, explains that a recent upsurge
in diagnoses has led to controversy about whether
children with severe irritability, but without clear
episodes of mania, are being misdiagnosed as having
bipolar disorder. “There really isn’t debate about
whether there is bipolar disorder in children,”
Leibenluft says. “What’s debated is how common it
is.” But the bottom line is that any child diagnosed
with bipolar disorder needs help.
Researchers are gaining new insights into what
goes awry in the brains of people with bipolar
disorder. For example, people with the disorder seem
to have different ways of perceiving emotions in
others’ faces.
Scientists know that bipolar disorder is largely
genetic because of twin studies. When an identical
twin has bipolar disorder, their twin, who has the
same inherited DNA, also has bipolar disorder 60-80%
of the time. Non-identical twins, who share only
about half their DNA, tend to share bipolar disorder
only about 20% of the time. “That tells us that
about two-thirds of the risk for bipolar disorder
can be explained by genes,” McMahon says.
While there’s no cure for bipolar disorder,
treatment can help prevent episodes and control
their symptoms. Different types of medication can
help. So can talk therapy.
If you think you or a family member has bipolar
disorder, call your doctor to get assessed. “Getting
help sooner rather than later is really important,”
McMahon says. ”
If you’re diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Zarate
says, learn as much as you can about it. “You as the
patient can take responsibility for your own illness
and should do everything in your power to stay
well,” he says. He suggests mood charting—tracking
what brings about episodes and how well the
medications are working. Mood charts can help you
and your doctor design a more effective treatment
plan.
“It’s important to have a good support system of
friends and family,” Zarate adds. They can help by
learning to spot the signs of an episode and what to
do when they see the warning signs.
Be patient. “People sometimes get frustrated,”
Zarate says. “These kinds of medications don’t work
overnight.” It can take several weeks to control
your symptoms—and several months to really stabilize
the disorder. So stick to your plan and keep in
touch with your doctor.
More
information may be obtained by calling:
Jasper County Health Department Behavioral Health
Services
at (618) 783-4154