- What is it
- Mood disorder
- Chronic condition causing intense mood changes
- Who does it affect?
- 1 in 50 Aussies
- Onset: teens/young adults
- Women > men
- Characterised by
- Periods of extreme moods
- Manic (hypomanic) episodes
- Extreme euphoria, high
- Can be high-functioning
- Hypomania is ’less than mania'
- Depressive episodes
- Can last weeks or months
- Symptoms (direct quote)
- During a manic phase, symptoms may include:
- feeling high, extremely happy or irritable
- inflated self-esteem or grandiose ideas
- increased energy, activity and creativity, along with a reduced need to sleep
- an increase in task-focused behaviours (such as staying up all night to get things done)
- racing thoughts and speech (may be expressed as frequently talking over people) jumping from topic to topic
- being very easily distracted by any stimuli (such as noises or other people)
- impulsive or risky behaviours with spending, business or sexual activity
- unrealistic plans, delusions or hallucinations
- During a depressive phase, symptoms may include:
- low mood
- lack of motivation
- a loss of interest in usual leisure activities or hobbies
- changes in sleep patterns
- difficulty concentrating
- withdrawing from social contact and activities
- feelings of worthlessness or guilt, which may include suicidal thoughts
- Types
- Bipolar I
- long-lasting periods of extreme mood (either mania or depression)
- can include psychosis
- Bipolar II
- less-extreme highs (hypomania)
- episodes last for a few hours/days
- Cyclothymic disorder
- less severe, still impacts daily function
- Substance-induced bipolar disorder
- Causes
- Here it will be made clear why I have an irrational fear about developing bipolar disorder.
- Genetics
- 1 parent with bipolar -> 1 in 10 chance of child
- [someone I know] has bipolar disorder (I., I think)
- [someone else I know] had bipolar disorder (definitely I., it was quite severe)
- 2 parents -> 4 in 10
- Chemical imbalances
- Triggers
- HEEHHEHEE yeah this is another place that worries me
- I have a pretty bad combo of risk factors
- [someone I know] is prob clinically depressed
- my ACE score is pretty high/I had a traumatic childhood
- family conflict is high
- constant resurfacing of trauma and hardship in my life, it seems
- general anxiety can be quite high
- anxiety attacks do occur but they’re not too common and they’re not really panic attacks
- ‘Women who are predisposed to bipolar disorder may experience their first episode while they are pregnant or after they have their baby.’
- my JAW DROPPED when I read this
- Treatment
- Initial
- medications, individualised
- Ongoing
- with the aim of preventing relapse and improving quality of life
- medications
- antidepressants (short period, only should be combined with bipolar-specific mood stablisers)
- lithium, [someone] takes this and so did [someone else]
- anticonvulsants
- antipsychotics, in particular Risperidone sticks out bc [someone I know] has taken it…
- Therapy
- Prevention
- no guarantee (yay)
- be aware of early warning signs
- inform friends and family
- avoid substances
- incl caffeine (luckily I don’t drink coffee, take that [my coffee addicted friends] and other coffee enthusiasts in my life)
- stress management
- sleep
- Complications
- can become more severe without treatment
- high risk of other health issues