Bipolar Disorder
...still use it. It is a psychiatric illness that causes major disruptions in lifestyle and health. Bipolar disorder is a long-term condition with no actual cure, only ways to control the symptoms. With treatment, many people are able to lead normal lives
- Everyone has occasional highs and lows in their moods. But people with bipolar disorder have extreme mood swings. They can go from feeling very sad, helpless, worthless, and hopeless (depression) to feeling as if they are on top of the world and hyperactive. This disease is called bipolar disorder because the mood of a person with bipolar disorder can alternate between two completely opposite poles, happiness and extreme sadness.
- The extremes of mood usually occur in cycles. In between these mood swings, people with bipolar disorder are able to function normally, hold a job, and have a normal family life. The episodes of mood swings tend to become closer together with age.
Bipolar disorder can cause major disruption of family and finances, loss of job, and marital problems.
- Severe depression can be life-threatening. It may be associated with thoughts of suicide, actual acts of suicide, and even acts of homicide in some cases.
Extreme mania can lead to aggressive behavior, potentially dangerous risk-taking behaviors, and homicidal acts.
- A number of people with bipolar disorder may turn to drugs and alcohol to self-treat their emotional disorder, resulting in substance abuse and dependence.
- The majority people begin showing signs of bipolar disorder in their late teens. These signs may be dismissed as "growing pains" or normal teenage behavior. Bipolar disorder may not be properly diagnosed until the sufferer is 25-40 years old, because the patterns of symptoms become clearer.
- About 5.7 million people in the United States have the disorder.
- If a family member has bipolar disorder, other...
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