What other characteristics does bipolor have?

Question

My cousin was diagnosed with Bipolor, she asumes having 'episodes' means your cutting and hurting yourself. Well when we asume she's having an episode she'll talk nonstop, organize, bring up past issues, cry randomly, count things over and over, and other such random things. Are these part of the bipolor diagnoses, and is there anything we can do about them?

Answer 1

Does she have trouble sleeping? Can she get by with almost no sleep? Does she engage in dangerous "thrill" activities? These are all good indicators of Bipolar Disorder.
Also, rule out illegal drugs. Many people with Bipolar use them.

Answer 2

What you and your family assume does sound like the cycles that occur in BiPolar disorder. In BiPolar Disorder there are both manic episodes and major depressive episodes. In a manic episode the person can have feeling of grandosty; decreased need for sleep; more talkive than usually; thoughts racing (usually when talking, the person can jump from subject to subject and there is no apparent link); sometimes excessive involvement in pleasurabe activities (example: shopping); very easily distracted.

The Major Depression episode occurs with the depressed mood; lack of interest in other preferred activities; fatigue; and feeling of worthlessness.

But BiPolar has to be diagnosed by a clinician. Your family can be supportive by encouraging your cousin to see a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). They can diagnose and assist your cousin when managing the BiPolar disorder if it is diagnosed. It can be hard though to encourage a person who is suffering with this disorder because when having a manic episode they have so much energy and this makes them feel good but when have a depressive episode they may not have the energy to go through the steps to get counseling. So keep talking with your cousin about how counseling can help her get back to having some control over her feelings and being able to manage better with the symptoms.

Answer 3

bipolar disorder is a very common psychologic disorder of today. there are types (there are 4 types of BPD disorders) and levels of it just like any other psychologic disorders. According to those types and levels there are treatment plans. There hasn't been a sure-shot cure for this because it's still being researched and because the treatment can depend on a lot of other things which varies from case to case. It used to be called manic-depression. It's very important that you cousin gets in contact with the right kind of doctors and goes through both physical and psychological test before she start any kind of medications. I refer to this precisely because Bipolar disorder is usually treated with medications and/or therapy or counseling and sometimes it's genetic and therefore family members with similar disorders, create the situations that triggers the episodes. Self-diagnosis is very dangerous at this state and professional help is definitely imperative. Assumptions is not a risk you'd like to take. Trust me. So,before you go any further make sure of the disorder cause Bipolar P.D is sometimes confused with other disorders such as . Depression, ADHD, ODD, schizophrenia. His or her age is also a very important factor.
Generally, sleep deprivation,taking hard drugs , alcohol abuse, emotional trauma ,Caffeine triggers epısodes. Which is depression in normal terms makes your cousin feel like nothing matters anymore and reality is nothing different than fantasy, anything can make her feel like she has lost a relative and two minutes later she can be as happy as a kid. Suicide also unfortunately is a risk. But NOT THE ONLY SCENARIO...
Therapy is very important and accepting the disorder is also a critical step for the family and the patient.
One last thing , anti-depressants isnt the best option because low dosages can cause depression when higher dosages can cause an unnatural feeling of happiness which will lead to a very bad depression once the effect is gone. So that is still a debate.
So,sınce the cure depends on the patient , fırst cooperation and communication is vital. You also can watch her behavior w/o treating him or her like theres something seriously wrong with him/her.. Because as i said its very common and It's something your cousin will learn to live with if he/she WANTS to. .
feel free to contact me anytime you want for more info.
...
ps: The most succesful creative people usually have suffered from manic depression and they have been successfull because they have used the feelings that it caused in a positive way. So.. everything happens for a reason and accepting it always opens a broad horizon...
SORRY IF IT GOT TOO LONG :)

Answer 4

There isn't much you can do to calm a person down during an episode. My boyfriend of 9 years is Bipolar. He has about 2 episodes a year, each lasting about 2 to 3 weeks. He doesn't sleep, yells and screams at the world, cries uncontrollably, tells tall tales from his past, can't sit still, talks nonstop for days and days, tells people off, etc.

He is doing everything possible in the way of regular treatment and medication. Still he is out of it about 4 or 5 weeks per year.

Once I locked myself in the bathroom and put a pillow over my head due to the verbal abuse. He took the bathroom door off and yelled at me that I wasn't listening to him.

I usually go to a hotel for a couple days when I've reached my limit. A person can only take so much. When he comes down, he's depressed, ashamed, sorry and feeling worthless for months. That's Bipolar.

Your cousin needs a psychiatrist and medication as soon as possible. Good Luck to you!

Answer 5

Are you sure she's not taking "uppers" or diet pills? Way back..we used to take dexidrine for diet pills (before anyone knew they were dangerous) They make you do similar things (of course"cutting" wasn't "In" in those days.). If she's not taking anything...something is definitely wrong with her...but that doesn't mean it's bipolar. Just because being bipolar is popular these days...doesn't mean it's an answer for every thing. You need to google bipolar and see what the symptoms are. Sounds like she's definitely depressed...or maybe she's having a reaction to the bipolar medicine they're giving her. The medicine should make her feel normal....not like this. I think I'd change drs.

Answer 6

This sounds like she is on a manic high. This includes flights of ideas, disorganization, outrageous behavior, and generally having the appearance of someone on speed.

The best thing you can do for her is make sure she doesn't severely hurt herself.

Cutting and self-injury are a whole other issue. There is lots of info online about this. This requires therapy to stop.

FYI: Don't make impossible requests of her, like telling her to stop her behaviors. Have her talk to her doctor about managing her manic episodes better with medication.

Answer 7

Bipolar have extreme swings in personality for no apparent reason. The person could be having a great at a club and five minutes later they are crying on the bathroom floor (actual friend). NO reason. They feel great at one moment (I mean really great like they 're dating both Brad Pitt and Jolie) the next thing you know they are really down. Your description sounds more like obsessive compulsive disorder.

Answer 8

Bipolor disorder (formally called manic-depressive illness) is a mood disorder... People who have this disorder have no control over it... Sometimes even medication...

So I'm sorry I do not know anyway...