Bipolar Disorder - Types, Symptoms, Causes & Treatments

Frequent changes in mood are a sign of severe health issues. They might happen due to hormonal changes in a person's body or even due to mental health conditions. Bipolar disorder can also be another reason behind a person's shift in mood, causing extreme changes in their personal life.

With the correct diagnosis, appropriate treatment, and utmost care, an individual can live a healthy life. First, let us go through the types, symptoms, and treatment procedures that help cope with this disorder.

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What Is Bipolar Disorder?

Manic depression, or bipolar disorder, is a mental health condition leading to extreme emotional changes. Known as mood swings, these shifts in mood are sometimes high, known as hypomania and sometimes low, termed as depression. Along with mood changes, a person will also experience shifts in energy levels, disrupting their everyday life.

The National Institute of Mental Health says that manic depression is much more intense than ordinary mood swings and affects a person's sleeping patterns and concentration levels. This makes a person impulsive, making his work, relationships, and other aspects of life go out of balance. In addition, extreme conditions might lead to a person experiencing psychosis, including paranoia, delusion, and hallucinations.

What Are the Different Types of Bipolar Disorders?

Mood swings in manic depression might happen several times a year or rarely. Some people experience emotional turmoil, and some might not experience any. A person can be diagnosed with one of the major types of bipolar disorder discussed below:

Cyclothymia: In this trait, chances of severe mood shifts are lesser, and depression levels are less intense, but you might need to visit a doctor for help. Cyclothymia also affects an individual’s overall daily life. Furthermore, following a proper treatment plan can effectively manage mood shifts and depression.
Bipolar I Disorder: For diagnosing this trait, a doctor will ask if the patient noticed one manic episode earlier or had a previous case of a major depressive condition. This might have affected their mental health severely as it lasted longer than a week. The doctor will rule out the chances of delusional disorder and schizophrenia.
Bipolar II Disorder: Hypomania is a major cause behind this trait, where depression dominates an individual’s mental condition. A doctor will check if there have been cases of depression earlier in life. They will also check if there has been any severe hypomanic episode with severe mood shifts. Moreover, an individual diagnosed with hypomania might feel better at certain times. They will behave well, be calm, and feel good at that moment. But the risk of an unstable mood stays, followed by bouts of depression. However, a person having this trait will experience more episodes of mood shifts than a person having bipolar I disorder.
Rapid Cycling Bipolar: If one has experienced four or more manic or mixed episodes in a year, then this person is diagnosed with rapid cycling bipolar disorder. In this case, an individual feels stable for some days or weeks between the manic episodes. However, these experiences stay longer, sometimes for months.
Bipolar With Mixed Episodes: If an individual notices changes or shifts in mood frequently in a day or an hour, it means they have bipolar with mixed episodes. This is also termed mixed affective bipolar. This means hypomania or mania and depression happen at a similar time.
Bipolar With Seasonal Patterns: When a doctor says that an individual has bipolar 1 and 2 disorder with seasonal traits, that means there is a mood change as the seasons change. This a person regularly experiences as the season changes frequently.
Unspecified Bipolar: When the symptoms do not fit into the above categories, a doctor marks it as unspecified manic depression. This means changes in mood and energy levels are happening for other reasons.

What Are the Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder?

The different symptoms of bipolar depression are as follows:

Frequency of Manic Episodes: If an individual has had one episode of the manic condition followed by depression, this will trigger bipolar disorder stage one. In this trait, the person will experience psychosis. In the case of stage two, an individual might experience one hypomanic and one depressive condition but not a severe manic condition.
Hypomanic Condition: When a person has a hypomanic condition, they behave weirdly, where one notices higher levels of energy and impulsive behaviour. For example, a person feels exaggerated or overconfident, causing euphoria. This person will unnecessarily talk much more than required. Other symptoms include less sleep, distraction and unmindfulness, racing thoughts, and poor decision-making.
Difficulty in Daily Habits: Due to a highly depressive condition, a person suffering from manic depression might experience extreme difficulty pursuing daily activities. Feeling low and sad, hopeless, and lonely are some symptoms. One might also experience a lack of energy or interest in everyday activities and insomnia or oversleeping. In addition, a person continues to feel indecisive, worthless, or guilty for no reason. This also leads to restlessness and fatigue.
Extreme Weight Loss: When an individual is not dieting yet experiencing severe weight loss or suddenly gaining weight, this might be a symptom of manic depression. It makes a person frustrated with themselves, and they start disliking themselves.
Sudden Change in Behaviour: A person with bipolar disorder will sometimes experience excessive happiness or excitement. But on the other hand, they tend to be impulsive and restless, making unusual and unrealistic plans.
Suicidal Thoughts: This is, by far, one of the major issues with individuals having bipolar disorder. Self-harm is a condition that might trigger an individual to cause pain to themselves. However, if you are currently noticing suicidal thoughts that continue to poke your mind, seek immediate help from a doctor. One of the primary reasons causing significant impairments in this issue is when this disorder or depression stays longer. Furthermore, bipolar disorder can happen at any age, and the symptoms vary from person to person. Well, seeking help from a doctor within time results in diagnosing the issue at the primary level before it becomes serious.

What Are the Causes of Bipolar Disorder?

Bipolar disorder can have several reasons behind it. Some causes of bipolar disorder are as follows -

Genetic Reasons: If any family member has this disorder, an individual is likely to develop manic depression. As it runs in families, a single gene is not responsible for this disorder. Instead, several environmental and genetic factors trigger this condition.
Chemical Imbalance: Doctors believe this disorder happens due to chemical imbalances in an individual's brain. Neurotransmitters control a person's brain activities, including dopamine, noradrenaline, and serotonin. If there is an imbalance in the parameters of any one neurotransmitter or more than one, an individual will develop symptoms of manic depression.
Mental Stress: Any traumatic event, physical, emotional or sexual abuse, stress, or death of a close one might result in symptoms of manic depression. These life-altering events can cause depression at any moment in an individual’s life.

What Are the Risk Factors of Bipolar Disorder?

The risk factors of bipolar disorder or manic depression are listed below -

A person witnessing extreme violence.
Being a victim of abuse and excessive trauma.
Females are more prone to experience manic depression than males.
Personality disorders.
Alcohol or drug abuse.
Damaged relationships in personal and professional space.
Frequent suicidal attempts or thoughts.
Poor performance in school or work.
Attention deficit or hyperactivity disorder.
Anxiety disorder.
Eating disorder.

How to Diagnose Bipolar Disorder?

In most situations, psychotherapy or psychological counselling are effective treatments for manic depression. Here is how a doctor diagnoses the condition:

The individual will undergo a physical examination and several lab tests to detect medical issues triggering the symptoms.
T The individual may consult with a psychiatrist who, through psychiatric assessment, will discuss thoughts and feelings, trying to understand a person’s change in behavioural patterns. They might also often ask family members to provide necessary information about the patient.
A psychiatrist might ask a patient to record their mood shifts (mood charting), sleeping patterns, changes in eating patterns, and related factors to help understand the underlying symptoms. This will further help in the diagnosis of this condition, helping in providing the correct treatment.

A psychiatrist can understand this condition's severity and prescribe medications or therapies as required by checking all the above criteria.

How to Treat Bipolar Disorder?

Bipolar disorder is a long-term disorder that requires utmost care. It might be hard to treat if an individual undergoes four or more four mood shifts in a year or experiences severe symptoms. Although some experts believe that manic depression has no cure, this chronic condition is manageable, helping the person lead an everyday life.

While it might require time to find the correct medication, since a doctor will analyse the health condition first, they might try a few things before figuring out an adequate medication. However, one should consult a doctor before changing or stopping any medication. Also, pregnant women must consult their doctors before consuming any medication.

Medication: A doctor might prescribe mood stabilisers such as lamotrigine, carbamazepine, lithium or valproate, cariprazine, lurasidone, lumateperone, quetiapine and olanzapine. Also, antidepressants, antidepressant-antipsychotic drugs, anti-anxiety medicines, and sleep medications such as benzodiazepines or sedatives might help treat the condition.
Talk-Therapy: Psychotherapy or talk therapy is an effective method to treat bipolar conditions. Through Interpersonal and social rhythm therapy or IPSRT treatment, doctors will stabilise a person's mood by creating a routine they must maintain.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: CBT is another effective procedure where better habits replace the bad habits in a person. This allows a person to manage their stress and control the negative mindset that might arise from certain situations.
Electroconvulsive Therapy or ECT: It is a procedure where doctors prescribe small dosages of electric shocks to a patient with such a disorder. This helps in changing the balance of certain chemicals in the brain. However, these are the last options when therapy and medications have failed to treat a person.
Help From Family: Psychoeducation or teaching family members about this disorder will help them support the person diagnosed with the mental condition. This way, family members can understand the condition's primary symptoms and seek a doctor’s help.

Other Treatment Options and Lifestyle Practices:

Lifestyle changes help in creating a mental balance helping to treat this behaviour. Other treatments for bipolar disorder include the following:

Performing regular exercise.
Maintaining an eating and sleeping routine.
Gathering support from friends and groups and other social connections.
Recognising mood shifts and learning to control them.
Finding hobbies and sports and indulging in them.
Avoid consuming drugs or consumption of alcohol.

When to See a Doctor?

Often, individuals with bipolar disorder cannot understand the extreme traits they undergo. When they can understand, it is too late. However, manic depression can never get better on its own. The following symptoms require an individual to see a doctor:

Violent and aggressive behavioural patterns.
Lack of control over the behaviours leading to misbehaviours on social fronts.
Hamper in relationships and workflow due to persistent impulsive behaviour.
Frequent suicidal attempts, harming oneself.

Children, teenagers and adults showing signs of excessive manic depression must immediately undergo treatment procedures whenever their parents discover such traits.

How to Manage and Prevent Bipolar Disorder?

There is no exact procedure to prevent manic depression. However, diagnosing the condition and going for treatment at the earliest can help control it and prevent it from getting worse. Here are some strategies that can help manage and prevent the disorder:

Understanding the Warning Symptoms: As soon as one identifies a person having a pattern of manic depression, addressing it earlier can prevent the worsening of the episodes. Of course, one must immediately consult a doctor if there are bouts of acute depression or mania. Also, involving friends and family members, teaching them about this disorder and asking them to notice changes in the patient's behavioural patterns will help.
Avoid Alcohol and Drugs: Consuming drugs and alcohol will only worsen this situation and condition, making them more vulnerable to such traits. That is why doctors ask patients with bipolar disorder to stop consuming them.
Consume Medications: As soon as the symptoms reduce, patients start avoiding their medications. However, stopping a medicine as the doctor prescribes or reducing the dosage will allow disorder symptoms to return or worsen.
Indulge in Positive Activities: Good activities and hobbies tend to control impulsive behaviour as it keeps the mind distracted in better ways. In addition, it keeps the mind at peace, allowing a person to come out of the bad phases of life that have triggered manic depression.
Mental Happiness: A happy mind and soul is the best treatment for manic depression. Praising people for their good deeds or activities will help them gain confidence. Also, a balanced mind tends to take good decisions and make proper judgements, thus preventing the situation from worsening.

Here is all about bipolar disorder and its treatment procedures. However, not opting for treatment procedures might deteriorate the situation. Therefore, it is advisable to seek immediate medical help whenever one notices even minor signs of depression. This will benefit a person in the long term.

FAQs About Bipolar Disorder

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What is the age risk of bipolar disorder?

Manic depression generally develops when a person is around 15 to 25 years of age. Most of the extreme cases are diagnosed with people who are below 25 years of age. Sometimes, realising the symptoms and the disorder might take time when a person is almost 30 to 40 years old.

What is the hormonal risk of manic depression?

Doctors believe that manic depression is sometimes associated with abnormal thyroid function. Thyroid functions affect major brain activities in an individual as it releases hormones helping in growth and development. An individual with manic depression might have underactive thyroid or hypothyroidism.