Could you be bipolar?
ARE you happy one moment, then become monstrous in a split second? Melancholic, then suddenly feel a burst of inexplicable energy? Understanding the characteristics of mental disorders such as bipolar disorder is essential so you can seek the appropriate treatment.
Psychiatrist Dr Geoffrey Walcott said bipolar disorder, also known as manic depressive illnesses, is a mood disorder and is characterised by more than one bipolar episodes.
“There are three types of bipolar disorder — bipolar 1 disorder, bipolar 2 disorder and cyclothymic disorder,” he explained.
He said in bipolar 1 disorder, the main determining factor is the presence of manic or mixed mania even though the patient may have predominant depressive episodes
Bipolar 2 disorder is diagnosed when an individual presents recurrent depression accompanied by hypomanic episodes — a milder state of mania in which the symptoms are not severe enough to cause marked impairment in social or occupational functioning or need for hospitalisation, but in which others observe the change.
Cyclothymic disorder is a chronic state of cycling between hypomanic and depressive episodes that do not reach the diagnostic standard for bipolar disorder.
Dr Walcott explained that manic episodes are characterised by distinct periods of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable moods, lasting at least one week. Additionally, he said during the period of mood disturbance if three or more of the following symptoms have persisted and have been present to a significant degree then the individual may very well be bipolar
1. Increased self-esteem or grandiosity
2. Decreased need for sleep. For example, the individual feels rested after only an hour of sleep
3. They are more talkative than usual or pressure you to keep talking
4. They present a flight of ideas or subjective experience that their thoughts are racing
5. There is distractibility or their attention is too easily drawn to unimportant or irrelevant external stimuli
6. There is an increase in goal-directed activity either socially or sexually or psychomotor agitation
7. There is excessive involvement in pleasurable or high-risk activities that have negative consequences — for example, engaging in unrestrained buying sprees, sexual indiscretions, or foolish business investments.
Treatment options for people with bipolar disorder include medications — mood stabilisers, antidepressants; or/and psychotherapy, which can include cognitive behavioural therapy, family focused therapy, interpersonal and social rhythm therapy and psychoeducation.
