|
Most of us have normal ups and downs with how we feel. People with bipolar disorder experience these in an extreme form. Manic-depression is the old name for what we now call bipolar disorder. People with bipolar disorder have two different kinds of moods called manic and hypomanic episodes. Most have had, or will have periods of depression as well.
It affects equal numbers of men and women. Most show the first signs of the illness between their teens and their fifties. Bipolar disorder is a medical disorder. It must be treated with medication, not just with therapy. The most common cause for a manic episode is that a person has stopped or missed taking their medication. Support groups or individual counselling can help people learn to live with the disorder. A manic episode occurs when a person has a period of drastic changes in mood. A person in this kind of episode often seems "high" without taking drugs. During this time, the person may show signs, such as: - need little or no sleep
- talk much more than usual
- be very distractible
- jump from topic to topic
- seem jittery or unable to keep still
- be more active than usual
- seem conceited or boastful
- not think about consequences
- spend wildly
- have unusual sexual encounters
In a manic episode, a person may have totally unrealistic ideas. When people are in full manic episodes, their lives at home and work are severely affected. Many times they end up in the hospital. People can also have mixed episodes. In a mixed episode, someone may go very rapidly up and down, within hours or days, from manic to depressed and back again. If someone you know seems to be having a manic episode, get help immediately. They may need to be hospitalised for their own protection and treatment. Article #6737 Copyright (c) 2002 McKesson. All Rights Reserved. |
