Here are some interesting facts about bipolar disorder: Bipolar disorder refers to psychiatric diagnosis where person is experiencing frequent episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, usually accompanied with one or more depressive episodes (basically in most cases it is the combination of manic and depressive episodes). Bipolar disorder can sometimes lead to delusions and hallucinations. Many different researches have proved that genetics plays important role in developing bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder can in most serious cases result in severe manic episodes where person can harm oneself or other people or in severe depressive episodes going as far as seriously thinking about suicide. It is not easy to diagnose bipolar disorder because the symptoms of bipolar disorder are sometimes not consistent enough (with some people depressive episodes are much more often than manic episodes while with other it is the other way around). Persistency of some feelings like for instance sadness, anxiety, guilt, anger, hopelessness is usually the key in diagnosing bipolar disorder. Manic episodes of bipolar disorder are characterized by high levels of energy and a significantly decreased need for sleep. In some cases people suffering from bipolar disorder can go for days without the sleep. Bipolar disorder can in many cases increase sexual desire. Environmental factors also play a significant role in the development and course of bipolar disorder, and it is not all about genetics. It is estimated that around 40% of adults diagnosed with bipolar disorder had traumatic experiences in childhood. When diagnosing bipolar disorder psychiatrist looks for different abnormalities in behavior. The most commonly used criteria for diagnosing bipolar disorder are from the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Bipolar disorder has similar symptoms to schizophrenia and especially borderline personality disorder. Diagnosing bipolar disorder usually needs very long time period (sometimes it takes more than 10 years due to inconsistent symptoms). In many cases individuals are being misdiagnosed because health professionals usually relate “everything” to simple depression. Medication given to individuals who suffer from bipolar disorder is usually lithium carbonate or lamotrigine. Lamotrigine is one of the best medications in preventing depressions, while lithium is the only drug proven to reduce suicide in bipolar patients. There is still a major disagreement between health professionals whether antidepressants should be used or not because some studies have showed reporting a worse outcome with their use triggering more frequent manic episodes. Every third person with bipolar disorder has attempted suicide or completed it. The annual average suicide rate for people with bipolar disorder is 0.4%, which is 10 to 20 times that of the general population. source : Interesting facts about bipolar disorder | Secrets of Healthy Life
