what exactly is biopolar disorder?

Question

please explain in detail

Answer 1

an imbalance in the chemicals in the brain that regulate mood. the imbalance causes one to go from extreme optimism and/or elation to depression . the changes can be short or long duration once diagnosed it can be treated by a combination of meds and counseling. undiagnosed, it can lead to debilitating depression alcoholism, and self destructive behaviors. .

Answer 2

OK, so it's a mood disorder and a serious mental illness. It has a strong genetic component, but appears to be triggered environmentally. There are no diagnostic tests for it, just psychiatric evaluation. Most sufferers are not diagnosed until middle age, and it takes an average of around 8-10 years to get a correct diagnosis. Historically, figures suggested it affects about 0.8% of the population at some point, which makes it about half as common as schizophrenia. In recent years, bipolar disorder has become an 'in' diagnosis, and many more people are being diagnosed at younger and younger ages. As with ADHD, this fad may well pass with time, although for the moment many celebrities appear to be 'popularising' it.

It is characterised by episodes of severe clinical depression and mania or hypomania (for definitions of those, see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Current_diagnostic_criteria_for_bipolar_disorder ). The extreme end of mania often turns into psychosis, complete with hallucinations and delusions. During manic phases, the person's judgement and perception of reality is severely compromised, leading to risky actions with potentially damaging consequences (financially, sexually and relationship-wise). Untreated, episodes generally worsen over time due to an effect known as kindling. Untreated Bipolar sufferers are at a very high risk of suicide: 20-25% attempt it, and 15% succeed.

The cycles in bipolar disorder are much longer than people generally believe. Anyone whose mood changes from minute to minute is very unlikely to be bipolar. Bipolar 1 is characterised by mood episodes lasting many months, while Bipolar 2 has episodes in the region of weeks to months. Rapid and ultra-rapid cycling bipolar disorder is rare, and cycles last days to weeks.

There are many drugs available to treat the symptoms of bipolar (there is no cure). These are either anti-convulsants or anti-psychotics (personally I take both), and the most well known of these is Lithium. These drugs are heavy duty psychiatric medications and are not to be taken lightly, and most if not all of them have a range of side effects including lethargy, photosensitivity, cognitive impairment (dumb as a box of rocks), weight gain, hormone problems, hair loss and blood problems. These side effects have to be weighed against the benefits of mood stabilisation. Most patients will go through a number of different drugs before finding one that works for them.

Answer 3

I am answering this as a person who has bipolar disorder and I keep learning more about it each time I talk with a knowledgeable medical person. Basically, one exhibits changes in mood. These are sometimes called "manic" or "up" and "depression" or "down."
If a person is depressed they usually sleep a lot, lose interest in activities and isolate themselves and may lose interest in sex.
When you are "up" your mind is spinning with lots of thoughts, you have lots of energy, may talk a lot and faster, be impulsive, spend more money and have a greater interest in sex. Having the right psychiatrist is very hard to find. Getting the right combination of medicine for the person takes time and working together with the doctor. It is good for the person to keep track of their moods on a scale of 1-5 or 1-10. You may want more detailed medical info but this is a general description of what it does to a person.

Answer 4

It's a mood disorder where you have severe mood swings, you can go from being extremely happy and often times partake in irrational behaviors such as going on spending sprees, binging, just packing up and leaving for a last minute vacation...and then your mood swings and you feel incredably sad and depressed (often times suicidal)...or extremely angry and can become violent.

Answer 5

Well, as everyone else said already, it is a mental condition that is usually diagnosed in people around the age of 19, 20, something like that, as it happened to me. About 1% of the world population suffer of bd. People like me change fast from total euphoria to total sadness, major part of the time people like me feel like they have a thousand thoughts at the same time on their minds... It is difficult to pay attention to class... Sometimes people with bd get a little aggressive, people with bd unless oriented by a doctor that consider it necessary should never use anti depressives cause they may activate a maniac phase with the possibility of psychotic symptoms that may lead the person to violence. In USA there are LOTS of pages with good information on BD information, about treatments, drugs and everything else people need to know to handle BD. Family and friends have lots of difficulties to handle persons with BD, those sites may help them, and people that want help on it may contact me by my e-mail [e-mail]

Answer 6

Almighty God is the best Healer. One can find enjoyable living in God.

In the Beginning God created heavens and earth.
God gives you air to breathe and sunshine to enjoy.
God gives you water to drink and food to eat.
God gives you a wonderful body and sound mind, to live.
God loves you, and you are precious to Him.
Son of God died on the Cross to save us from condemnation.
Jesus’ love is boundless and everlasting.
We have the hope of Heaven through Jesus.
Life therefore has fantastic and glorious future!
(Please must visit: www.spiritlessons.com)

Answer 7

well i do know that recently i was told, that all the feelings i was having are the norm. i have reason to cry, or be depressed, or aniexity. i was told, it is to the level that these things occur. to me when you have to ask yourself, you have a brain and know when it becomes more often then the feeling good in life is less than feeling bad.

Answer 8

bipolar means two opposites. good - bad, happy - sad, up - down, a person who has frequent mood swings is said to have bipolar traits. when it affects their daily life activities in a bad way they usually need professional help to get things under control.

Answer 9

it is where you have major mood swings
you go from way happy to way mad to way sad, etc.

Answer 10

if you type it in your search engine you'll find lots of information