What is bipolar disorder?

 A mental health disorder in which a person experiences manic depression is typically a mental health condition. It will involve extreme mood swings, and the individual can sometimes be very depressed and at other times be extremely maniacal. Multiple causes of bipolar mood disorder exist, and some are genetic causes, others arise from environmental causes, and so on.

Manic episodes, like depression, can have a variety of symptoms. However, the disease itself can be a source of concern for many people. These symptomatic manifestations can last for hours, and in some cases, days.

Ideally, there are three different types of bipolar disorders, and they are all together categorized as bipolar diseases.

1.      Bipolar I

In this category of bipolar disorder, the manic episodes can last for almost seven days at a stretch. Often, the manic symptoms are so acute and severe that the person might be in need of immediate hospitalization and must be taken to the emergency room.

There are many causes of bipolar mood disorders in different individuals, and the major symptoms are often severe forms of the disease.

 In this kind of bipolar disorder, depressive episodes can also last for two weeks at a stretch.

Mostly, bipolar I is a serious disorder, and its treatment ranges from aggressive to milder variations.

2.      Bipolar II

In this kind of disease, there is a hypomanic period and a depressive period. A depressive episode typically lasts two weeks, while hypomanic episodes can last up to four days.

People with bipolar I can have at least one manic episode in their lifetime. People with bipolar II might never have a manic episode but might have one or more depressive episodes.

With bipolar I, one has the ability to have a psychotic episode, and with bipolar II, there are no severe symptoms.

Manic episodes are different from hypomanic episodes, and they can occur in both bipolar I and bipolar II disorders.

Manic Episodes	Hypomanic Episodes
Typically seen in bipolar I disorder	It can be present in both bipolar I and bipolar II disorders.
Symptoms will remain for a week	Symptomatic presentations can last for a period of four days
People with bipolar disorder might also show signs of psychosis.	They will not show psychotic symptoms.
Symptoms can disrupt your daily life.	Symptoms will not disrupt your daily lives.
Hospitalization becomes necessary.	Hospitalization is not necessary.

3.      Cyclothymic disorder

Cyclothermia is not as severe as bipolar disorder and is a rare kind of disorder. It allows emotional highs and lows, and it can often lead to exaggerated feelings of happiness and sadness, but otherwise it will not be disturbing enough.

How common is bipolar disorder?

If you ask how common bipolar disorder is, then you can safely assume a number around one in every hundred people.

If you want to know how many cases of bipolar mood disorders there are and what age it sets in, people between the ages of 15 and 19 are more prone to developing bipolar disorder. There are no gender differences, and it can come up in anyone as long as the causes of bipolar mood disorders are evident in the concerned individuals.

Almost 4.4% people in the United States alone are affected by the disease.

Usually, it’s a cyclical disorder and occurs following a lunar cycle or sometimes it is tuned to other cycles.

Those who exhibit a lunar pattern will be more positive near the full moon and more negative near the new moon.

How often does bipolar cycle occur?

Usually, a single cycle might last from a few days to a few months. It will be followed by a long period of remission, and sometimes it occurs up to four times in a year. Some people may only have the symptoms twice or three times a year, depending on their circumstances.

Some can have a very frequent change in cycle, and in a single day, there can be many episodes of depression and mania.

Causes of bipolar mood disorder

What most often intrigues people are the different causes of bipolar mood disorder. Most people do not want to accept their surroundings and fall into activities that can lead them to various issues and problems.

Often, some of these issues can predispose a person and put them in situations where they might encounter triggers for bipolar mood disorders. As a result, avoiding such triggering factors is frequently the best way to avoid becoming engulfed in conditions you do not deserve.

Some of the most common causes of bipolar mood disorder include the following:

·         Medications for treating other diseases:

Several medications can frequently cause a person to develop bipolar mood disorder. Several antidepressants are known to cause such an issue. Other psychiatric medications and even physically ailing conditions can lead to such triggers.

Drugs that can cause bipolar mood disorder include drugs from the following families but they are just not limited to the below list and the list can go on to add some more medications.

·         Alcohol or any recreational drugs

Depression, mania, and hypomania are some of the conditions that come up when someone regularly uses alcohol and other recreational drugs.

 If you want to find out how it is impacting the population, closely refer to the graphs.

Image credit: The Lancer

Image credit: National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

·         Genetics

SLC6A4, TPH2, DRD4, SLC6A3, DAOA, DTNBP1, NRG1, DISC1 and BDNF are some of the genes that can contribute to the initiation and development of bipolar disorder. There are other genetic alignments that are being tested right now and the genetic involvements will be quite broader in the near future.

If someone already has an active gene or is predisposed to the condition, triggering factors will play a prominent role in the individual’s quick development of bipolar disorder. It is one of the potential causes of bipolar mood disorder.

If there is an imbalance in one of the neurotransmitters present in the brain, there are chances that a person might be predisposed to bipolar disorder.

Some of the famous neurotransmitters that, when out of balance, can cause bipolar disorder are noradrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine.

Symptoms of bipolar disorder

Every symptom described below is a normal human feeling, and since we are humans, we are bound to experience them regularly. But when we have these symptoms, it does not guarantee we have BP; only after careful observation can one term it as such. Most of the time, misdiagnosis and incorrect diagnosis occur because they are entirely dependent on a psychiatrist’s ability to judge correctly. There are several symptoms of bipolar disorder, and these include the following:

·         Feeling of depression

·         Maniac feeling

·         Patterns of depression and mania

Rapid cycling and mixed states are two ways in which it can work. This cyclical order applies to those who rapidly transition from a high to a low phase.

When depression and mania happen together, it also happens in people.

Social causes of bipolar disorder

There are many social reasons that serve as causes of bipolar mood disorder, and each of these causes can be a contributing factor serving as a risk factor for the disorder.

·         Those who undergo trauma and adversities

Different types of physical, mental, and spiritual trauma and adversities can cause bipolar disorder in individuals.

·         Several negative life events at the time of adulthood

Different life events can lead to bipolar disorder in adults. There is the LEDs assessment, and it guides one in their understanding of the disease.

·         Social support is low for individuals

Social support is low in many cases, and people who turn lonely if they are not aligned rightly within themselves can face problems that are both mental and physical. Mental issues can lead to bipolar disorder or even schizophrenia in individuals with weaker mental states.

·         Poor family functioning

Families often don’t support their own children in the right way. True care is often not possible if a child is not understood well within one’s family. It also serves as a contributing cause of bipolar mood disorder.

Treatment of bipolar disorder

Treatment of bipolar disorder is a vast topic, and there are medicines involved alongside proper examination and counseling.

Each of these medications has its own risks, but some people need them continuously so as to overcome these issues.

Can extreme stress cause bipolar disorder?

Extreme stress can cause bipolar disorder and when a person experiences it, there are chances that they might develop the disorder. Even though it is completely not proven, yet, it is understandable that multiple forms of life stress can conveniently cause the disorder. However, even though initial studies have been done around the topic, it is still not an exhaustive action that is taken up to date to study all forms of stress and their collaborative effect on the disorder.

Conclusion

Bipolar disorder is a manageable disease, and celebrities as well as everyday people suffer from it. It is not very common, yet it is not uncommon enough to meet such individuals daily on the streets.

Thus, it is essential to understand that bipolar disorder is nothing that should weigh you down but something that needs to be addressed at the right time in the right way. If you ever come across anyone who lives with bipolar disorder, you need to not stigmatise such people but instead open your eyes and broaden your mind, for they are fit enough to be your friend.

Social structuring and stigmatization are potent causes of bipolar mood disorder patients’ not opening up. But if we keep them segregated, there is a chance they will destroy not just themselves but also others around them. Acceptance in the right way, with proper alignment training, can give them a chance to be back in society, as well as give you a chance to meet another wonderful human on life’s roads.