Familie Kontoret

Posts Tagged ‘Manic Episode’

Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness that can be very debilitating to a person’s normal life. Of course, it can also wreak havoc on the lives of the people around them as well. Unfortunately, there are 5.7 million adults within the United States today who are forced to deal with this debilitating disorder. Herein it is important to take into consideration the fact that misdiagnosis is very uncommon due to the continuum and various forms of this disorder. Therefore, it is quite possible that even more people have gone undiagnosed as well.

Types of Bipolar Disorder

There are essentially three main types of bipolar disorder. These are:

Bipolar I is whenever a person has at least one manic episode with or without any previous episodes of depression.
Bipolar II is whenever a person has had at least one hypomanic episode (similar to mania but not as severe because it won’t disrupt your daily routine) and one episode of depression.
Cyclothymia is a mild type of bipolar disorder that includes mood swings that are not as severe as those that are found within patients who have Bipolar I or Bipolar II disorder.

Symptoms Of Bipolar Disorder

There are a lot of different symptoms that a doctor must be on the lookout for whenever dealing with a bipolar patient. This is especially true since bipolar is a rapid cycling disorder that leads to four or more mood swings (alternating between mania and depression) per year. Psychosis (hallucinations and delusions) is oftentimes present in severe cases. Of course, there are also times whenever a person’s life isn’t affected at all.

Some of the symptoms of mania include:

Euphoria Extreme optimism Inflated self-esteem Poor judgment Rapid speech Racing thoughts Aggressive behavior Agitation Increased exercise Risky behavior Spending sprees Increased sexual drive Decreased need for sleep Becoming easily distracted Unable to concentrate Drug abuse

On the other hand, some of the symptoms of mania include:

Sadness Hopelessness Suicidal thoughts/behavior Anxiety Guilt Sleeping problems Appetite problems Fatigue Loss of interest Problems concentrating Irritability Chronic pain with no known cause

Knowing these symptoms is only the start of actually treating bipolar depression so that you will be able to live a more normal life. Many people with this problem have learned to live a normal life and function everyday just like the rest of us. Managing bipolar is possible with the proper support and knowledge from friends and family.

Bipolar disorder is also commonly known as depressive- manic illness. It is the major cause of abnormal mood swings and energy levels that can affect someone’s daily life. Bipolar spectrum disorder is a disorder in another level and range of disorders. It can have a single episode, a mild episode or a lot of severe mood swings. The mood swings can be separated by a period of normal behavior. In some other cases the manic episode and the depression episodes can be very alternate and occur frequently. Rapid cycling is what is used to refer to these alternate mood swings. Bipolar disorder is mostly noticed in early adulthood.

The symptoms of Bipolar Spectrum Disorder include both manic and mania episodes and also depression and depressive episodes. This is a change in both the mood and behavior and it noticeable by the patient. The symptoms in mood changes are; a loss of interest with the activities that would make the person happy, periods that will last long of being happy and extremely high. The person will get easily irritated and will always be uneasy; they will also have a feeling of emptiness and a lot of worry with no apparent reason. Behavioral changes symptoms are; being very excited and the tendency to talk fast, a great change with the sleeping and eating patterns, will be very restless. The person will be very easy to distract and will lose concentration in any activity very fast. They will also have a great problem when it comes to decision making. They will complain of being exhausted when they have done a small amount of work.

Bipolar spectrum disorder has four types of disorders which are; Bipolar 1 disorder. It is a combination of both the manic and mania episodes. It can easily last for two weeks. It can also be an episode of depression or hypomania that might need immediate care in the hospital. It is the main manic-depressive illness. The second type is Bipolar 11 disorder. It is characterized by one episode that is hypo manic. It will occur frequently with a lot of intensity than a manic episode. It will be followed by one major depressive episode.

It is very difficult to diagnose bipolar II because the hypo manic episode will look like a high productivity period. The third type is Cyclothymic and Cyclothaymia disorder. This is milder compared to bipolar II. Mostly occurs for two years and not very severe but have some everyday interference with normal activities. The fourth one is Bipolar disorder not otherwise specified. It is also referred to as sub-threshold. It is noticed when a person is suffering from manic and depressive bipolar spectrum symptoms.

Bipolar spectrum disorder has no cure and it is an illness that will occur frequently. But the treatment to keep it in control will be offered once it is diagnosed. The patient will be on medication for the rest of their lives.

Our society is ingrained with sexuality. Everywhere you look there is sexual innuendos, signs and issues. It is always pushed to the forefront our minds and in many ways our lives. What happens when the way you think and act are governed by an issue such as bipolar disorder and your behaviours change as a result, and so too do your degrees of sexuality.

You have the one end of the spectrum, hypersexuality, that is often associated with mania. This in itself isn’t the issue. It’s the coupling of it with mania end of the spectrum that is. So what if a guy or gal wants to get down a little more than often, that really isn’t a problem. Mix it with the dangerous thinking associated with mania and you have a big problem. You have a lack of judgement, you have impulsiveness, and worst of all you have the long reaching effects that all of this can have on your life and those of others.

During these periods, one of the last things thought about is protection. A week of different flings each night with different people can have a widespread effect on someone’s life. It can result in pregnancy, and possibly even death. It can break up families, marriages, homes and everything in between. It can rob someone of their life. Completely. And utterly.

One of the only ways to curb this is to ensure that the bipolar person is being treated for their disorder. The proper medication and therapy can go a long way to preventing and minimizing manic episodes and the issues relating to them such as hypersexuality.

It can also help to have a very strong support system in place. One that will help ensure your morals and mind are about you, even when they may not be.

It may also be to a point where the sufferer needs to understand, and realize that when they are in a manic episode, it is often better to stay home going crazy with boredom, then to be out at the club or other such place where the behaviours are only sure to escalate. It may seem strange or even over the top, but sometimes locking yourself up at home during these periods is the only thing to do to prevent the results of a dangerous encounter in an altered state of mind.

You may also find, either as the person suffering from it, or the outsider watching it, that after the fact a whole lot of remorse kicks in, a whole lot of soul searching and pain and confusion. What they (or we) did in that mental state haunts us. It was abnormal behaviour for us, and even if the negative consequences aren’t seen by outsiders, we feel them, within ourselves.

It is very difficult to live and feel like this. To do your best no matter you mental state to fight off urges and behaviours we know in our heart of hearts are wrong, and not something we would normally ever consider. This quote says it better then I can: “You often see a lot of regret for the past behavior because they put themselves in very bad situations,” says Viguera. “When they’re well, they reflect back on that and there can be a lot of regret and remorse. It’s just another clue that shows you that that was not their normal state.” And this in itself can cause the depressive side of bipolar to be even worse. Living with the remorse and pain of what we did in an altered state.

Which of course brings us to the other side of the spectrum. The depressive side. Where nothing in the world could make us want to be sexual in anyway. Where the last thing in the world we want is to be intimite with another person, even if they are our spouse, or someone we love and care about deeply. The depression eats us alive, and along with it our libido.

Dr. Last, author of When Someone You Love Is Bipolar, writes several contributing factors:

Your mate feels physically unattractive (old, ugly, fat) and sexually undesirable.

Your mate feels vulnerable or fragile and can’t handle intimacy right now.

Your mate no longer pays attention to his or her grooming and isn’t comfortable relating on a sexual basis.

Your mate is withdrawn and wants to be left alone.

Medication side effects have decreased your mate’s sexual desire or interfered with his/her ability to achieve erection/orgasm.

Your mate is feeling exhausted and doesn’t have the energy for the exertion that sex requires.

Your mate can’t experience pleasure from anything right now, including sex.

So where is the balance? How do you make it work, not only for yourself but those you love and care about and those who love you as well?

Honesty is the best remedy. Being completely open with your partner about your urges, your feelings and most of all your condition is just one thing to start with. If they don’t know what is going on with you, they cannot help you, no matter how they try. If they don’t understand what you’re going through and that you don’t mean to behave in some of the ways you do, it can help.

Support is another big one. You need to have someone to confide in. Someone who won’t judge, who won’t point there finger when you admit your deviant behaviour, someone who will help you overcome the guilt of living with those behaviours. Someone to listen to you.