The many causes and factors of bipolar disorder - Research Paper Example

The Many Causes and Factors of Bipolar Disorder Bipolar disorder is one of the many mental illness categorized as a mood disorder due to symptoms of gross deviation in mood. The key factor in identifying bipolar disorders is a patient's tendency to fluctuate quickly between manic episodes and depressive episodes in a roller coaster type fashion. Sufferers of bipolar disorder will drop suddenly from the heights of happiness to the depths of despair for no apparent reason. Not only do patients endure the debilitating effects of depression, which can be a life ruining experience, they also must deal with the downside of their manic states as well, often temporarily losing touch with reality with delusions of grandeur along with their euphoric highs. Often manic episodes cause patients to go on wild spending sprees, or wast large sums of money on unwise investment schemes. When others try and stop them, or convince them otherwise patients often become irritable, hostile, enraged, or even dangerous to their family and other loved ones. "While bipolar disorder is much less common than major depressive disorder, affecting only one percent of the world's population," ( Barlow 198 ) its effects are so detrimental that scientists and psychologists have dedicated large amounts of time and research in an attempt to decipher is causes. Different biological, cognitive, psycho dynamic and social perspectives offer insight on why bipolar disorders occur. Biological factors like "genetic inheritance and abnormal brain chemistry play a major role in bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder" ( Wood 248 ). Over the last few years, scientists have discovered that bipolar patients have abnormal patterns in brain activity discovered through PET scans and were able to discover that a "small thimble sized patch of brain tissue in the lower prefrontal cortex was approximately forty to fifty percent smaller in patients with hereditary depression" ( Wood 246 ). This part of the brain is associated with emotions and how they are controlled and expressed. Hereditary depression is the term used when multiple members of a family suffer from mood disorders, such as bipolar disorder, and have the same discoveries in a PET scan. This occurs primarily from "shared genetic factors rather than environmental factors" ( Roberson 21 ). Based on a 1993 study of 1,721 identical and fraternal twins, "scientists estimated the heritability of major depression to be seventy percent and the contribution of environment to be thirty percent" ( Roberson 21 ). Likewise it was also discovered that adopted children suffer from bipolar disorders far less that children raised in their biological families. Serotonin and Norepinephrine levels in the brain also trigger bipolar disorder. Similar to the way in which substances like alcohol, caffeine, and psychoactive drugs can alter mood, so can natural fluids in the brain. Since scientists know that mood is controlled by natural chemicals produced in the body, it is understandable that these chemicals also play a major role in bipolar disorder. Serotonin and Norepinephrine are two chemicals that play the biggest roles in the development of mood and emotion. "Too little Norepinephrine is associated with depression, and too much is associated with mania" ( Wood 248 ). Many doctors choose to attempt to control levels of Serotonin and Norepinphrine with the use of Amphetamines which have been proven effect these chemical levels in the brain. "According to the cognitive perspective, depression results from distortions in thinking: ( Barlow 199 ). This means that patients suffering from bipolar disorder view themselves and their surroundings as extremely negative when they are in a depressive episode, and extremely positive when they are in a manic episode. When patients are suffering a depressive episode they often feel inadequate and useless and attribute these thoughts to their own stupidity or mental failures. Many bipolar suffers have found help in avoiding cognitive traps which help them to steer clear of depressive episodes. For instance, they avoid thinking about what could be and instead focus on the positive aspects of their life and what they do have. They try not to make mountains out of mole hills, or blowing a small negative event out of proportion. Also they may focus on making sure that their happiness is not tied to perfection and accept that not everything is going to work their way and not everyone is going to like them. Yet another idea is the psycho dynamic explanation that proposes reasons behind the cause of bipolar disorder. In this explanation " psycho dynamic theorists suggest that when people cannot effectively express aggressive or negative feelings, they may turn those feelings inward, repressing them, and thus experience depression" ( Bendeke 43 ). Therefore expression emotions through anger, sadness, frustration and fear can help curb the development of bipolar disorder. Many times, individuals who have been raised in environments where expressing emotions was not tolerated may develop bipolar disorder as a way to try and deal with their feelings and make them more acceptable. Lastly, social factors have been found to play a profound role in the development of bipolar disorder. "Even though heredity is the best predictor of depression over a lifetime, many scientists have found that social factors such as getting divorced, or losing a job are the best short-term predictors of depression" ( Wood 250 ). For individuals who also have the hereditary gene, the combination of the two makes them even more likely to develop a bipolar disorder. In many studies scientists found that negative life events played a significant role in the majority of first time depressive episodes. "This seems particularly true in women, who are more likely to have experienced a severe negative life event just prior to the onset of depression" ( Wood 251 ). This could be due to the many extra social and cultural factors that effect women such as trying to fulfill too many roles in life. Women struggle to balance their lives between their children and family, their husband, and their careers. Overall, these different factors can all come into play when it comes to the development of bipolar disorder. While heredity is the leading factor is most cases of bipolar disorder, environment, cognitive thinking, psycho dynamic factors and society all contribute to the problem. Therapy for bipolar disorder usually consists of managing the influxes of chemicals in the brain with ongoing drug treatments that prevent recurring episodes. Suicide occurs at a high rate among bipolar suffers due to the overwhelming depression that can set in after a manic episode. This is why continued treatment and therapy is deemed necessary and should be continued throughout the patients life even when the symptoms of bipolar disorder seem to have subsided. These symptoms can come back at any time and without warning, making bipolar disorder incredibly difficult to maintain without constant monitoring and treatment. Works Cited 1. Barlow, David. Essentials of Abnormal Psychology. Wadsworth Group. Belmont, CA. 2004. 2. Bendeke, Robert. Strategies for Modifying Mental Disorders". Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Vol. 58. Issue 1. 3. Roberson, Eugene. "The Genetic Epistemology of Depressive Disorders". American Journal of Psychiatry. Vol.12 Issue 148. 4. Wood, Samuel. The World of Psychology 4th Ed. A Pearson Education Company. Boston. MA. 2002. Read More