?what is bipolar?

Answer 1

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 2

Hello there, i've been suffering from bipolar for a very long time, probably years, however I most effective received a prognosis a couple of week in the past! No person else in my family has it, they all have recurrent melancholy as an alternative. It can be a comfort to get the diagnosis in a method, when you consider that i do know that it's the Bipolar inflicting my temper swings and now not just ''me being crazy''. I've been started on a low dose of Zyprexa, I suppose my psychiatrist intends to add more medication in a couple of week's time. I think at the time he idea I was manic, when you consider that when he requested how i might rate my mood I mentioned 'low part of common' after which his eyebrows raised and he seemed bowled over and stated 'you mean you get loads larger than this?' and i went 'hell yeah!' and laughed, and that's when he put me on the Zyprexa. I am a bit depressed on the minute though, and that i can not manage to make myself leave the residence, dress or get something to devour... Anyway, on the moment i am not functioning well at all, nevertheless it's kind of a comfort to know there are different bipolar men and women out there that are coping and living a average life. I am hoping so that it will be me soon too. Probably after I'm on the correct medicine. All the excellent. <3 x

Answer 3

Bipolar can refer to:

Bipolar disorder, a mood disorder; a type of depression (once known as "manic depression")

Bipolar cell, a second order neuron of the retina

Bipolar junction transistor (electronics)
A two-lobed, axially symmetric Bipolar nebula.

Bipolar outflow of ejected materials from both poles of a star.
In mathematics a bipolar set is the polar of a polar set.
Alternatively, in mathematics, bipolar coordinates are a type of orthogonal coordinates based on the Apollonian circles.

Bipolar (album), an album by American rapper Vanilla Ice.

Biopolar political system - where two powers are equally matched

The working title of the Limp Bizkit album that eventually became Results May Vary.

A design of loudspeaker, which has transducers on the front and the rear of the enclosure.

The nickname for the Milwaukee Road class EP-2 electric locomotives.

which one???

Answer 4

DEAR BIPOLAR you can get it two ways be born with it with a really bad stroke and cerebral palsy that is one away 2 is if you do a lot of street drugs mine came from birth and grand mild sarges a really bad stroke and a really bad case of cerebral palsy that is the only two ways are family history that is all i can tell you palsy falls in manic depression 1-2 which is also bipolar just not as bad because you at like a child some time and ages go from (1-3-5-7-9-11-13-are 34) depends on days weather and moods that is just what the doctors told my mother and father at the age of one year old with me

Answer 5

Bi-Polar is a mental Illness that affects your emotional reactions to what you see.

In the extreme down or depressed stage you see the same reality as ever but it all seems terrible and sad, you have unreasonable expectations of bad outcomes of everything.

In the extreme up or manic stage it is still the same reality, but instead of unreasonable bad expectations, you have unreasonably good expectations that everything will work out in the most perfect way possible. This causes the person to make bad gambles or take unwise risks.

Finding an even keel is very difficult, and trying to avoid one pole throws you to the opposite pole. For some reason the element lithium seems to treat this specifically, though other drugs are usually involved as well.

It is very hard for the person to make any judgment, even though they might be able to describe the reality very well. This is unlike a lot of mental illnesses where the reality itself is hard to discern.

Mental stress seems to trigger a natural weakness, or bring on episodes. As a result the person is less able to help others with their stresses, but is greatly in need of support from family and friends.

Answer 6

Bipolar is a term for a type of mental condition in which people suffer from depression and manic depression. People diagnosed are usually put on medications and monitored by a psychiatrist and counselor. There is no cure, but mood swings can be controlled with medications.

Answer 7

Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder. There are 2 types of biploar disorders: type 1 and type 2. Type one consists of one or more episodes of major depression plus one or more periods of clearly defined mania. However, the person does not need to have depression to meet criteria for diagnosis. Mania is feeling euphoric with high energy, decreased need for sleep and increased self esteem. People with mania can get into trouble with the law, be irritable, and spend/give large amounts of money away. Type two consists of one or more periods of major depression along with periods of hypomania. Hypomania is a similar to mania just not as exaggerated.---Hopefully this helps!

Answer 8

Its a mental condition that makes people act like a servere nutcases if they go off their medication. If you know someone who's bipolar and they are not a relative I suggest staying as far away from them as possible.

Answer 9

Serious form of Depression condition. Often goes untreated and even worst often misdiagnosed with Anxiety disorder. Its a serious but treatable mental illness. Seek help of expert Psychiatrists

Answer 10

alternating moodswings outside the normal range