What Is The Treatment For Bipolar Disorder
If your doctor thinks you have bipolar disorder, they may refer you to a psychologist or psychiatrist.With help and support from family and friends, most people learn to manage their bipolar disorder and get on with life. You are likely to have times when you are well and times when you are unwell. The treatment with medication offered by your doctor or psychiatrist is tailored to your needs to help you recover from periods of illness so you get back to your normal moods and behaviours. They then adjust your treatment to help you remain well. Medical treatment is usually accompanied by psychological support to learn about the triggers and identify the early warning signs of your symptoms, and to teach you effective and healthy coping strategies.Most people return to their usual level of functioning after times of illness, although about 1 in 5 will have some ongoing difficulties.
How Do I Get Help If I Think I Have Bipolar Disorder
The usual first step to getting help is to speak to your GP.
It can help to keep a record of your moods. This can help you and your GP to understand your mood swings. Bipolar UK have a mood diary and a mood scale on their website. You can find their details in the Useful contacts section at the bottom of this page.
Your GP cant diagnose bipolar disorder. Only a psychiatrist can make a formal diagnosis. Your GP may arrange an appointment with a psychiatrist if you have:
- depression, and
- ever felt very excited or not in control of your mood or behaviour for at least 4 days in a row.
They might refer you to a psychiatrist at your local NHS community mental health team .
Your GP should make an urgent referral to the CMHT if they think that you might have mania or severe depression. Or there is a chance that you are a danger to yourself or someone else.
Your GP should refer you to your local NHS early intervention team if you have an episode of psychosis and its your first one.
Bipolar disorder can be difficult to diagnose because it affects everyone differently. Also, the symptoms of bipolar disorder can be experienced by people who have other mental illness diagnoses. It can take a long time to get a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
You can find more information about:
- NHS mental health teams by clicking here.
Can Bipolar Disorder Be Prevented
There is no known method to prevent bipolar disorder. Because its exact cause has not yet been determined, it is especially important to know its symptoms and seek early intervention. Regular and continued use of medication can help reduce episodes or mania and depression. Some people who experience bipolar disorder may become suicidal. By knowing how to recognize these symptoms, there is a better chance for effective treatment and finding coping methods that may prevent long periods of illness, extended hospital stays, and suicide.
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How Accurate Is It
This quiz is NOT a diagnostic tool. Mental health disorders can only be diagnosed by a licensed mental health professional or doctor.
Psycom believes assessments can be a valuable first step toward getting treatment. All too often people stop short of seeking help out of fear their concerns arent legitimate or severe enough to warrant professional intervention.
What To Do When Youre Depressed
The most important step you can take is to start and stay on a bipolar treatment plan. Most include a mix of medicine and talk therapy.
Your doctor might prescribe a few different kinds of medication, including mood stabilizers, antidepressants, and antipsychotic drugs. Talk therapy can also help you control stress and recognize your symptoms sooner. Another type of therapy, called cognitive behavioral therapy, teaches you good ways to handle the negative thoughts that come with depression.
You can take other steps to fight depression, too:
- Donât drink alcohol or use drugs. They can make your mood worse and keep your medications from working.
- Stick to a routine. Try to go to bed, wake up, exercise, and take your medicines at the same time every day.
- Donât make major life changes while youâre depressed. Your doctor or therapist may be able to help you schedule absences from work if you need them.
- Ask a family member or friend for support. They can help you keep up with your appointments and medications.
If you are thinking about suicide or hurting yourself:
- Tell someone who can help you right now
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Beyond Treatment: Things You Can Do
Regular Exercise: Regular aerobic exercise, such as jogging, brisk walking, swimming, or bicycling, helps with depression and anxiety, promotes better sleep, and is healthy for your heart and brain. There is also some evidence that anaerobic exercise such as weightlifting, yoga, and Pilates can be helpful. Check with your health care provider before you start a new exercise regimen.
Keeping a Life Chart: Even with proper treatment, mood changes can occur. Treatment is more effective when a patient and health care provider work together and talk openly about concerns and choices. Keeping a life chart that records daily mood symptoms, treatments, sleep patterns, and life events can help patients and health care providers track and treat bipolar disorder over time. Patients can easily share data collected via smartphone apps including self-reports, self- ratings, and activity data with their health care providers and therapists.
Assessing The Severity Of Major Depression
The DSM-5 defines the severity of major depression based on the number of criterion symptoms, severity of those symptoms and degree of functional disability. Major depression is classified as mild if the patient has very few, if any, symptoms in excess of the five required to fulfil the criteria for diagnosis the symptoms are manageable and functional impairment is minor . At the opposite end of the spectrum, severe major depression has a substantially greater number of symptoms than that required to make the diagnosis seriously distressing and unmanageable symptoms and extensive impairment of social and occupational functioning. For moderate major depression, the number of symptoms, the intensity of symptoms and/or functional impairment are in-between those specified for mild and severe.
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Treatment Principles: Pharmacologic And Nonpharmacologic Treatments
For most patients, the foundation of acute and maintenance treatment is pharmacologic therapy.,
Acute pharmacologic treatment has the objective to reduce symptoms promptly with acceptable safety and tolerability. The treatment that is selected is based on the characteristics of the mood episode and on the patients general health status, including the presence of concurrent medical conditions such as diabetes or obesity, which can be exacerbated by certain therapies. A lack of response or an adverse effect to a medication may prompt a change in dose or a switch to another medication class. For many patients, particularly those with severe manic episodes or mixed states, combination therapy may be requiredeither using 2 or more medications concurrently or by the introduction of psychosocial approaches.
Approximately 1 in 5 bipolar patients will eventually require 4 or more concomitant pharmacologic medications to control their symptoms. High rates of comedication use are particularly common in patients with a high burden of depressive symptoms and at elevated risk for suicidality. While combination therapy may provide greater symptom control, it is also associated with an increased burden of adverse effects, cost, and potential for drug-drug interactions.
Can People Tell They Are Bipolar
People can often tell that something is wrong , but may not always be able to accurately label it as bipolar. For example, it is frequently easy for people to know when they are depressed, but sometimes symptoms of mania go unnoticed, or feel good, so they are not as easily seen as an issue, says Simon A. Rego, PsyD, Chief Psychologist at Montefiore Medical Center and Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.
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What Risks And Complications Can Bipolar Disorder Cause
There can be complications and risks for people who live with bipolar disorder. But these risks can be lessened with the right support and treatment.
What about suicide and self-harm?
You might have an illness where you experience psychosis, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Your risk of suicide is estimated to be between 5% and 6% higher than the general population.
You are more likely to try to take your own life if you have a history of attempted suicide and depression. It is important that you get the right treatment for your symptoms of depression and have an up to date crisis plan.
There is also research that suggests you are 30% – 40% more likely to self-harm if you live with bipolar disorder.
What about financial risk?
If you have mania or hypomania you may struggle to manage your finances. You may spend lots of money without thinking about the effect that it may have on your life.
You could make a Lasting Power of Attorney. This is a legal process. This means that you pick someone that you trust to manage your finances if you lack mental capacity to manage them by yourself.
You can work with your carer and mental health team. You can form an action plan. This can say what they can do if you have a period of mania or hypomania and you start to make poor financial decisions.
What about physical health risk?
What about alcohol and drugs risk?
If you want advice or help with alcohol or drug use contact your GP.
What about driving risk?
Symptom Awareness & Management Can Lead To Bipolar Stability
If you recognize yourself in these symptoms, write them down. Memorize them. When they show up again, you will be able to stop yourself from acting on the symptoms.
I was rude to someone during the episode that compelled me to write this list, and I felt terrible. I knew I was sick, and I knew I needed to be careful, but this illness is strong! I apologized and went into management mode the episode was gone by the evening.
I believe that the secret to stability is the awareness and management of symptoms.
Julie
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Balanced Meals May Help Balance Your Mood
Much like being active, making healthy food choices may help your physical well-being. Remember to include fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins in your diet.
Try including a daily walk or add a healthy meal to your routine once or twice a week and build on that change. Ask yourself, Do I feel a difference? If you have more energy and feel more alert, you may want to continue on this healthy path.
What You Can Do To Feel Much Better
These episodes of depression can take place once, two times, or a number of times in a lifetime. If you have been experiencing several of these signs somewhat that they have harmed or influenced your life, speak to your doctor. She or he can help you learn whether or not you are experiencing depression as well signs and symptoms of bipolar depression as guide you to suitable resources for therapy and also recovery. It can be genetic, suggesting the patient has a family background of depression. Individual trauma and sources of anxiety, such as a fallen short relationship or a lost work, can also create depression.
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How To Treat Bipolar Disorder In 4 Steps
Mood swings are a normal part of human life, but when the emotions felt are excessive and out of place, it might be a symptom of bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is a brain and behavior disorder characterized by extreme mood swings, both emotional highs referred to as mania or hypomania or emotional lows commonly known as bipolar depression, making it challenging for an individual to function. The exact cause of Bipolar Disorder is unknown, but some symptoms of bipolar disorder can aid in its diagnosis. Some of these symptoms include Extreme irritability, Increased sexual behavior, poor concentration, aggressive behavior, suicidal thoughts, etc. There are three types of Bipolar Disorders that people experience. Cyclothymic disorder is the mildest form of Bipolar Disorder. According to the American Psychiatric Association, Cyclothymic disorder is identified by frequent mood swings and few sessions of mania or depression. Bipolar disorder leads to sudden mood swings between episodes of depression and manic. An individual diagnosed with bipolar disorder is likely to experience sessions of normal moods between depression and manic. The last type of bipolar Disorder is Bipolar Disorder it is diagnosed when a person never experiences full-blown mania but experiences a major depressive episode.
What Happens In The Brain During Depression
Depression causes the hippocampus to raise its cortisol levels, impeding the development of neurons in your brain. The shrinkage of brain circuits is closely connected to the reduction of the affected parts function. While other cerebral areas shrink due to high levels of cortisol, the amygdala enlarges.
You can always find assistance on the ADAA Online Peer-to-Peer Support system or support system iphone app for apple iphone. Study shows that way of living changes like integrating workout signs and symptoms of bipolar depression can magnify results of drug as well as therapy. Also if they arent foolproof mood-lifters, it never ever harms to build a health-supportive regimen.
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Patterns Of Depression And Mania
If you have bipolar disorder, you may have episodes of depression more regularly than episodes of mania, or vice versa.
Between episodes of depression and mania, you may sometimes have periods where you have a “normal” mood.
The patterns are not always the same and some people may experience:
- rapid cycling where a person with bipolar disorder repeatedly swings from a high to a low phase quickly without having a “normal” period in between
- mixed state where a person with bipolar disorder experiences symptoms of depression and mania together for example, overactivity with a depressed mood
If your mood swings last a long time but are not severe enough to be classed as bipolar disorder, you may be diagnosed with a mild form of bipolar disorder called cyclothymia.
How Do Doctors Treat It
Although there’s no cure for bipolar disorder, treatment can help stabilize moods and help the person manage and control symptoms. Like other teens with long-lasting medical conditions , teens with bipolar disorder need to work closely with their doctors and other medical professionals to treat it.
This team of medical professionals, together with the teen and family, develop what is called a treatment plan. Teens with bipolar disorder will probably receive medication, such as a mood stabilizer, from a psychiatrist or other medical doctor. A psychologist or other type of counselor will provide counseling or psychotherapy for the teen and his or her family. Doctors will watch the symptoms closely and offer additional treatment advice if necessary.
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What Are The Complications Of Bipolar Disorder
If left untreated, bipolar disorder can lead to longer and more severe mood changes. For example, episodes of bipolar-related depression can last up to 6 months, while manic episodes can last up to 4 months without ongoing treatment.
Someone living with bipolar disorder may also have a higher risk of the following:
- unhealthy weight
- suicidal thoughts
Some of these problems may need to be managed at the same time as bipolar disorder.
With the right treatment and support, most people with bipolar disorder can live productive and fulfilling lives.
Diagnosing Bipolar Disorder In Adults
Bipolar disorder, also known as manicdepressive illness, is a medical condition that causes a person to experience intense mood swings that alternate between depression and mania. These mood swings can last for hours, days, or even weeks.
Mental health specialists at NYU Langone Psychiatry Associates, such as psychiatrists, psychologists, and licensed clinical social workers, can help determine if a person has bipolar disorder and, if so, how best to manage symptoms.
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A Patients History May Help Distinguish Unipolar From Bipolar Depression
When taking a history to determine a patients state of depression, medical causes of symptoms, such as hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism, have to be ruled out. In my experience, this is done by a PCP before the patient is referred to my practice, however, its worth noting that basic ER labs are usually not comprehensive enough and additional tests should be ordered as part of an initial assessment.
Relationship, employment, financial, legal, physical, and mental safety can be consequences at stake when misdiagnosing unipolar and bipolar depression. It is extremely important to take the extra time to get an adequate history in order to do the least harm.
Medication In Bipolar Disorder Treatment
When diagnosed with bipolar disorder, one of the most effective treatment options is medication, and it is regarded as the cornerstone of bipolar disorder treatment. The significance of bipolar disorder medications comes to play when controlling mania and bipolar depression it helps manage mood disorders and prevents relapse once your mood is steady. The right drug and dosage can determine how effective bipolar disorder medication will stabilize manic episodes and depression, and it is necessary to work hand-in-hand with a doctor or specialist to re-evaluate your bipolar disorder medication regularly. Finding the right bipolar disorder medication happens over time this is because different people diagnosed with bipolar disorder respond differently to various bipolar disorder medications, so you might have to test a couple of bipolar disorder medications before finding the right one. The appropriate dosage will be determined after seeing the bipolar disorder medication that works best for you. Administering the wrong dose may be harmful to the individual, and there is a thin line between an effective treatment and a harmful one. Be patient, take time to get the right bipolar disorder medication it goes a long way in helping you.
Finally, as relevant as it is to take medications to treat bipolar disorder, there are other ways you can manage your symptoms of bipolar disorder and eventually even reduce the amount of bipolar disorder medication needed.
Lifestyle Changes
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