Bipolar Disorder - Research Paper Example

? Bipolar Disorder Introduction: Bipolar disorder is referred to be a condition of the health where an individual suffers from quick mood swings that can occur between very good mood and irritating or depressed mood. Men and women may be equally affected through this disorder, where the primary age of getting attacked by this disorder is between 15-25 years. The exact causes of the disorder have not been understood. However it has been determined that the disorder mostly occurs in individuals who have relatives with the same problem. Although there are no particular causes of the manic moods in individuals, however certain lifestyles or sleep disorders that may be responsible. There are two forms of this disorder- Bipolar Disorder Type I and Type II (Bipolar Disorder, 2012). The present study focuses on learning of these two types of bipolar disorder reflecting on their history, causes, risk factors, treatment and prognosis. Bipolar Disorder Type I and Type II: An Understanding of Their Differences: Bipolar I and bipolar II are two major forms of the bipolar disorder. As far as the history of the disease is concerned, it has been obtained that bipolar disorder has some genetic connection. The disorder may affect men, women as well as children. Thus there might be a need for learning whether one’s family or one him/her self had the disorder in their childhood, particularly in cases where symptoms of the disease may be observed. Bipolar type I range from mania and depression and involve severe swings in the mood of the affected individual. However bipolar type II is milder in form in comparison to the type I disorder and involved gentler forms of hypomania that varies with the periods of depression. In order to receive a proper treatment, the type of the disorder is necessary to be determined that can be obtained by consulting with a medical professional if symptoms are observed (Bipolar Disorder History, 2008). Bipolar Type I Disorder: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatments: Individuals affected with Bipolar 1 are normally experienced with at least one manic period in their lives. This reflects a period of time when the affected individual suffers from abnormal mood swings, and abnormality in behavior that has severe impacts on his/her life. Generally majority of affected patients undergo through phases of depression. However in between the phases of depression or mania, the individual may live a life that is absolutely normal. Nearly every individual can be affected by this disorder. Generally the first symptoms are observed in individuals who are in their teen ages, and generally the disorder gets developed before 50 years age. If family members are affected with the disorder then chances of the occurrence of the disorder are higher (Bipolar I Disorder, 2012). The Symptoms: Generally the symptoms of the disease involve sudden abnormality in the affected individual’s behavior that may reflect irritability. There may be sudden shift of the mind from one context to another or the person may use rapid and loud speeches. The person also reflects huge amount of energy along with hyperactivity and reduced necessity for sleep. Inflated self-image, excess expenditure, hyper sexuality, and substance abuses are some of the other symptoms of the disorder (Bipolar I Disorder, 2012). If the disorder remains untreated, then it may last for few days or it may be for several months as well, after which the periods of depression initiates. In many cases, there are no symptoms visible for longer periods of time. There are other cases where the manic and the depression phases both appear alternately. Depressive phases in bipolar disorder are analogous to normal medical depression, that are associated with depressed mood, loss of enjoyment, low energy and action, feelings of remorse or insignificance, and feelings of suicide. These symptoms can last for weeks or even months, but hardly ever longer than a year (Bipolar I Disorder, 2012). The Diagnosis and Treatments: Manic periods in bipolar type I disorder need cure with drugs, that include stabilizers of mood, antipsychotics, as well as sedative-hypnotics. Mood stabilizers include lithium, depakote, and some other antiseizure drugs. These are used to control the manic behaviors and swinging moods of the patients. In cases of severity, antipsychotics are used that are also useful in prevention of the disorder. Benzodiazepins are generally tranquilizers that are used to control symptoms that are acute in nature associated with agitation or insomnia. Antidepressants have also been found to be effective in the treatment of depression that occurs due to bipolar I disorder. Another therapy that is good for the diagnosis and treatment of the disorder is the Electroconvulsive Therapy that can help when medicines do not work on the patients (Bipolar I Disorder, 2012). Bipolar Type II Disorder: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatments: Bipolar II is a milder form of the disorder and thus varies slightly from the type I disorder. Although the moods swings happen in this type of bipolar, yet the stage of mania is generally not reached. The elevated moods are less strong than Type I and are referred as hypomania. Individuals affected with this form experience the hypomania at least once in their lives. Also, depression is another effect of the disorder. Like bipolar I, bipolar II may also occur in individuals of any age and anyone may actually suffer from the disorder. The initial symptoms are visible in the teens and generally the symptoms develop before the age of 50, which is similar to bipolar I disorder (Bipolar II Disorder, 2012). The Symptoms: Irritability is observed as one of the major symptoms of this disorder. The symptoms that are observed during the phases of hypomanic periods include sudden shifts of the mind from one context to another, pressurized and loud speeches, and increased rates of energy accompanied with hyperactivity and reduced need for sleep. These symptoms are common to bipolar I disorder. However, some of the symptoms like inflated self-image, excess expenditure, hyper sexuality, and substance abuses that are observed in case of type I bipolar disorder are not found in bipolar II disorder (Bipolar II Disorder, 2012). Diagnosis and Treatments: The diagnosis and treatment of this disorder is largely dependent on the visibility of the symptoms since many times the hypomania may cause no harm and the disorder may remain untreated. This is different from bipolar I disorder that requires immediate medication on the maniac symptoms. The treatments are otherwise similar to that of bipolar type I and make use of mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, and antidepressants. Among the mood stabilizers, lamictal is used in this case that is not referred in type I disorder. This drug is permitted by the FDA for the protection treatment of adults affected with bipolar disorder. The antipsychotic drugs are mainly used for the treatment of the depression phases. Benzodiazepines are used for the similar purpose as in type I disorder. Antidepressants are also used; however they are not expected to worsen the stages of hypomania in the patients unlike bipolar I disorder. Since the actual causes of the disorder are not clearly known, thus it is also not known whether the disorder can be prevented or not. However immediate treatments when the symptoms of the disease are known may help development of the disorder to severity (Bipolar II Disorder, 2012). Risks Associated With Bipolar Disorder: Different studies reveal that there can be intense medical complications to the patients affected with the bipolar disorder. Patients with a bipolar disorder have been found to be at a higher threat for a broad variety of co-morbid conditions. It has been observed that patients diagnosed with this disorder are 3.13 times more probable to have a disturbance or an occurrence associated to the treatment of the disorder. Moreover, bipolar patients are 1.68 times more likely to suffer from an endocrine or metabolic disorder than those patients who has no mental health diagnoses. Mood stabilizers and other medications like antipsychotics that are used in the treatment of the disorder are also known to increase the risks of endocrine disorders, diabetes, hypothyroidism, and hyperparathyroidism (Nauert, 2009). Conclusion: From the above study thus, it can be concluded that the severity of the bipolar disorder depends of the type of the disorder affecting an individual. While the symptoms, diagnosis and the treatments are similar to great extents in case of bipolar I and bipolar II, yet the effects of the type II disorder have proved to be milder. Drugs have been significantly developed for the treatment of the disorder and once the symptoms are observed these may be used for the cure of the patient. However, as far as the risk factors associated with the disorder are concerned, the drugs also prove to increase the risks of disorder in other organs of the body that reflects on particular care being necessary for the prevention and treatment of the disorder. References 1) Bipolar I Disorder (2012), webmd, Retrieved on August 14, 2012 from: http://www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/guide/bipolar-1-disorder 2) Bipolar II Disorder (2012), webmd, Retrieved on August 15, 2012 from: http://www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/guide/bipolar-2-disorder 3) Bipolar Disorder (2012), NCBI, Retrieved on August 9, 2012 from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001924/ 4) Bipolar Disorder History (2008), bipolarsymptoms, Retrieved on August 14, 2012 from: http://bipolarsymptoms.org/bipolar-disorder-history/ 5) Nauert, R. (2009). Medical Risks Associated with Bipolar, psychcentral, Retrieved on August 14, 2012 from: http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/07/31/medical-risks-associated-with-bipolar/7465.html Read More