Bipolar Disorder
Autor: xauburntigerx • September 24, 2012 • Research Paper • 1,536 Words (7 Pages) • 1,146 Views
Running Head: Bipolar Breakdown
Bipolar Disorder:
Breaking Down the Disease
Jeffrey Scott Hatfield, II
Georgia Perimeter College
Bipolar Disorder:
Breaking Down the Disease
Cullen-Drill and Morris (2008) found that Bipolar disorder is present in approximately 3.7 percent of our population. This number may seem miniscule, but for this one percent the disease is anything but unproblematic. From manic stages to extreme depression, this mental illness is commonly known as instability within ones brain that can become very serious and dangerous if not treated. This disease is commonly found under other aliases such as manic or depressive. Johnson and Fristad (2008) found that the rate of bipolar diagnoses among children and adolescents have ballooned; by one recent estimate, treatment visits for childhood and adolescent bipolar disorder have increased 50-fold within the past 10 years.
Mood sways of this disorder can last for weeks to months to years, making it hard to treat among problematic cases. Having witnessed this disorder first hand with one of my family members, I can concur that it affects everyone coming into contact with the individual. It is widely known that most patients show a wide range of symptoms and are often not correctly diagnosed. When this condition is given time without treatment, it generally gets worse and worse. Johnson and Fristad (2008) also found that there is a disturbing rate of suicide attempts in untreated bipolar cases. There is no cure for this condition yet, but with proper treatment patients can live happy and productive lives.
The symptoms of bipolar disorder are all over the board, but most patients show the same behaviors while manic or depressive. Manic is a term used to describe a state of extreme emotional highness, and depressive is simply the opposite, that of being extremely emotionally low. Patients are usually in one of these states or a state of utter normality where it seems as if they are not ill at all. While manic patients are often very chatty, active, high in self esteem, and often euphoric which in many cases leads to drug and alcohol abuse. Depressive patients are often hopeless, anxiety ridden, angry and find it hard to sleep or eat regularly. Harvard Medical School (2008) found that the condition’s most painful burden may be depression and that patients generally take longer to recover from a depressive episode rather than a manic
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