Brief Overview of Unipolar and Bipolar Disorders - Essay Example

In the United States of America alone, 60% of suicide cases sprang out of clinical depression. Alarmingly, statistics show that 3.4% of people suffering from unipolar disorder commit suicide. A person suffering from unipolar disorder loses appetite and subsequently weight; takes no interest in anything whatsoever; feelings of worthlessness and regret are prevalent; insomnia develops; and the person may display poor memory, lack of focus, and introverted behavior. Unipolar order is diagnosed by the patient’s own experiences as well as behavioral changes and disorders observed and reported by the family.

There are no tests as such but behavioral analysis techniques are employed in diagnosis. If not treated at an early age, it may worsen the condition subsequently affecting the patient’s physical and mental health. Bipolar disorder is also known by its common name manic-depressive disorder or short manic depression. Sufferers of manic disorder experience weird bursts of energy resulting in hyper moods. On the other hand, they may also experience bouts of depression. In rare cases, an individual may be the target of both types of symptoms.

These moods may be buffered by what is termed normal behavior. However, in some individuals, one type of mood is followed by the opposite resulting in continuous ups and downs. This is clinically termed rapid cycling, the alternating between two “poles”, hence the name. In extreme cases, bouts of manic depression may cause delusional behavior as well as hallucinatory experiences. There are further categories of this disorder to better help diagnose cases. The diagnosis for bipolar disorder is similar to the former kind: self-reported symptoms or symptoms and behavioral abnormalities reported by friends or family are analyzed.

Clinical analysis entails sessions with a psychologist. The difference between the two is thus obvious: unipolar disorder causes patients to lose all taste for life; and bipolar disorder causes its patients to have mood swings, sometimes causing unpleasant experiences. There are two main theories concerning what causes unipolar disorder. The first theory, the biopsychosocial model, states that clinical depression may be caused by biological, psychological, and social causes, as the name hints. The other theory, the diathesis-stress model argues that a pre-existing anomaly (or diathesis) is triggered by a distressing stimulus resulting in unipolar disorder.

This anomaly can be either hereditary or generic, or acquired through experience. Very similarly, the roots of bipolar disorder in a patient may be genetic though the outside stimulus is also a major cause. A patient’s environment plays a large part in the ailment taking hold. A person’s environment or repetitive exposure to disturbing situations may act as a catalyst for the ailment fully taking hold. Physiological abnormalities or deficiencies, particularly the size and shape of the brain may also cause bipolar disorder.

Medication is largely used for treating both types of disorders. For unipolar disorder, antidepressants are prescribed to patients as well as psychotherapy. In some cases, electric shocks (electroconvulsive therapy or ECT) as also administered under a general anesthetic. The type of psychotherapy also varies depending on the severity of the case as well as the age bracket of the patient. Children and young people are normally given CBT or cognitive behavioral therapy sessions.