Bipolar Disorder Treatment

Bipolar disorder is a psychiatric illness marked by extreme mood swings ranging from manic to a depressive condition. It is often called bipolar disease or manic depression. A person who is suffering from bipolar disorder can experience various symptoms that change from day to day including:

When a person is experiencing mania, he may find himself engaged in common unhealthy and risky manic episodes such as drug use, spending sprees, and impulsive or unprotected sex. During the depressive phase, a person may find himself losing interest in activities that he normally enjoys, have very little or too much sleep, and worse, has suicidal thoughts or attempts. These mood swings can be severe and at times, a person can experience a quick shift of mood from depression to mania.

Bipolar disorder can be hard to diagnose unless a person exhibits severe mania, which can be unmistakable. Generally, the symptoms can be hard to identify and analyze. People who have hypomania, a mild form of mania, may feel more invigorated than usual. He will feel more self-assured and full of ideas over anything that goes inside his head. A lack of sleep is likely as well. People are more likely to get help if they are suffering from depression; because of this, specialists may not be able to observe the manic side.

When specialists suspect bipolar disorder, they may diagnose the problem with a few different approaches including: