Bipolar disorder affects 390,000 people in Canada and 1,259,000 people in the U.S.A. affecting many aspects of their lives. So what is bipolar? Bipolar is a disorder that is based in the brain, sometimes passed down through genes(often skipping a generation), or developed through the function and structure of the brain. This disorder is an alternation between manic and depressive periods; people may find themselves living in these states anywhere from a few weeks, to months at a time. A person who is diagnosed with bipolar may have many questions like: what will I experience in a manic or depressive state? How will my family be affected through my disease? What treatments and medications, if any, can I take for bipolar, and what are the costs? I will be answering all of these questions and sharing a personal story of how bipolar took the life of one of my close family members.
The symptoms of a manic state and a depressive state are very different. People who are experiencing a manic state may have any of these following symptoms: extreme levels of feeling up, high or jumpy. They may talk quickly about many different subjects, feel irritable, have trouble sleeping, and do things without thinking like spending money or having dangerous sex. People who are experiencing a depressive state may have: intense feelings of sadness, worry and emptiness. They may have trouble concentrating or remembering things. They lose interest in doings things and become slower, and less active. They often cannot sleep and think about death or suicide. These symptoms will make it hard to carry on a normal life or show affection to loved ones. Many family members may feel put out through these feelings, but the best thing is to read up on the disease, and try to be understanding of what the particular person is going through. People with bipolar need a lot of support, whether they act like it or not.
There are many different types of medications and treatments out there to help people with bipolar. Many people who have bipolar take medications that are set to their specific case. There are always many risks involved with taking medications such as side effects, addiction, and they can also be expensive. Often people go to therapy to help deal with bipolar, “talk-therapy” or psycho therapy are commonly used for bipolar but can be very expensive. Sometimes people with bipolar decide to use electro-shock therapy, to correct the problems in the brain. This procedure is also costly and comes at a great risk of damaging the brain. Although all of these forms of treatments may be helpful they are all expensive and some have high risks involved. Having to spend a large amount of money on therapy, treatments, and medications may cause some people to have poor living conditions, which does not help the disease.
Growing up as a child, I was always surrounded by strong people who loved me and cared about me, and I saw it as one big happy family. It wasn’t until 2006 when this image changed, as my own grandmother tried to take her own life. I then learned about how my grandmother had suffered from bipolar since she had her first child, and the difficulties my mom had growing up with a mentally unstable mother. I was surprised to learn this about my family, but I understood, and believed that my grandmother would soon be back to normal. It wasn’t too long after she was released from the hospital, that my grandfather came home from work to find my grandmother comatose on the kitchen floor, with an empty 500 bottle of extra strength Tylenol in the trash. She was hospitalized and put on life support, but in the end she succeeded in taking her own life.
Through my research and watching my grandmother die of a bipolar related suicide, it has become clear that bipolar is a disease that is hard to live with. When something affects so many aspects of your life it is hard to carry on normally, but people with bipolar can often hide many of their symptoms and appear like they have no problems. They always need a lot of support and understanding, whether they are in a manic or a depressive state. Knowing that bipolar is passed down genetically, and that I have a higher chance of being diagnosed with this disease than others, I will always be looking out for warning signs. Although there is no way to prevent being diagnosed with bipolar, you can help yourself by catching symptoms early on, and getting treatment to keep the disease under control.
Sites:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001924
http://www.healthwatchcenter.com/2008/07/how-bipolar-disorder-affects-the-quality-of-life/
http://nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/bipolar-disorder-easy-to-read/index.shtml
http://helpguide.org/mental/bipolar_disorder_symptoms_treatment.htm
http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/what_causes_bipolar_disorder_000066_3.htm
http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/mental_health/bipolar.html
Blogs:
http://bipolarsupport.org/
Very well written
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