Bipolar disorder disrupts the social and professional functioning of a person; therefore, patients need the help of specialists.
How do people live with this disorder, as well as how is treatment carried out?
Genetics or lifestyle?
Men also suffer from this, but the weaker sex – more often.
This disorder can affect both elderly people and people at a young age, i.e., the disorder does not depend on age.
The appearance of a bipolar disorder in a person depends on genetics. But scientists have not yet been able to identify the specific gene that causes a person to have this disorder. This is a polygenic disorder, so it does not make sense to take tests to find out how high the risk of getting sick is. Moreover, genetic predisposition is not a verdict.
Probably, some predisposing factors influence. Some of them are known. Such factors can be stress, constant deadlines in a person’s life, as well as work at night. If a person has frequent flights with jet lag in his life, then he also has a chance of developing bipolar disorder. Therefore, we should try to avoid all this.
Symptoms
There are two phases of bipolar disorder: depressive and manic. The disorder can manifest itself only in a manic phase, only depressive, or only hypomanic manifestations. The number of phases, as well as their change, are individual for each patient. They can last from several weeks to 1.5-2 years. Intermissions also have different durations: they can be quite short or last up to 3-7 years. The cessation of the attack leads to an almost complete restoration of mental well-being.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
With bipolar disorder, there is no formation of a defect (as with schizophrenia), as well as any other pronounced personality changes, even in the case of a long course of the disease and frequent occurrence and phase change.
You won’t get bored
According to various estimates of researchers, bipolar disorder affects from a fraction of a percent to several percent of the world’s population. But recently there has been an increase in the percentage of sufferers from bipolar disorder.
At first glance, bipolar II disorder does not look scary and dangerous. Besides, it’s fashionable now to be different from everyone else.
But those who suffer from bipolar I disorder cannot call it something pleasant and something that they would like everyone to experience in their lives. It is especially difficult for those people who do not seek medical help to tolerate this disorder. If you do not consult a doctor, the disorder can develop and last for months.
How to “treat”?
Treatment should be carried out by a qualified psychiatrist. Psychologists in this case will not be able to cure this disease.
Image by Max from Pixabay
According to the clinical recommendations the treatment is divided into three main stages:
- cupping therapy is aimed at eliminating existing symptoms and minimizing side effects;
- supportive therapy – preserves the effect obtained at the stage of disease relief;
- anti-relapse therapy – prevents relapses (occurrence of affective phases).
For the treatment drugs from different groups are used: lithium preparations, antiepileptic drugs, neuroleptics, antidepressants and tranquilizers.
Psychosocial support and psychotherapeutic measures can significantly help in therapy. However, they cannot replace drug therapy.
The prognosis of bipolar disorder depends on the type of course of the disease, the frequency of phase change, the severity of psychotic symptoms.
