000 | 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒊𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓?
𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒚 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 | 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒊𝒔𝒉

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 Bipolar Disorder is a mental illness characterized by extreme mood changes and energy levels. To be diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder a person must have experienced at least one episode of mania or hypomania and at least two weeks of Depression. Mania or Hypomania is the elevated mood part of Bipolar Disorder; whereas Depression is the low part of the disorder. A person who suffers from Bipolar Disorder will often go through two states, a high state and a low state.

The high state is Mania or Hypomania. Mania is diagnosed by elevated mood and irritability that lasts for a minimum of one week. During the Mania or Hypomania a person is often impulsive, has extremely high self-esteem, hypersexual, abnormally upbeat, jumpy, or wired, increased activities, energy and irritability, decreased need for sleep, talkative, racing thoughts, easily distracted, poor decision-making for example, going on shopping sprees, taking sexual risks or making foolish and unnecessary investments.

Mania or Hypomania can last from either a week to months depending on the severity of the episode. If it's severe enough it can put a person in the hospital because they can't come down from the high.

A low state is Depression or Major Depressive Disorder, Depression is diagnosed when a person has the symptoms of a depressive episode for two weeks. Symptoms may include depressed mood, loss of interest in activities that used to be enjoyable, either weight loss or weight gain, difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much, apathy or agitation, loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness and guilt, inability to concentrate, thoughts of suicide, or even a suicide attempt.

There are four types of Bipolar Disorder. Bipolar type one, Bipolar type two, Cyclothymic, and Unspecified Bipolar Disorder.

Bipolar type one is classified as having manic episodes that last at least seven days, or by having manic symptoms that are so severe that the person needs immediate hospital care; there is usually a depressive episode that lasts about two days.

Bipolar type two is typically defined as a major depressive episode lasting at least two weeks and at least one hypomanic episode. It is often misdiagnosed as depression since the hypomanic episode is not severe enough to involve medical professionals.

Cyclothymic disorder is a rarer mood disorder that causes shifts in your mood. It causes hypomanic episodes followed by a low scale of depressive episodes.

Unspecified Bipolar Disorder is a mood disorder but where the person does not fit the exact criteria for Bipolar Disorder. The person would experience symptoms of Bipolar Disorder but they do not align with the exact criteria for any of the Bipolar Disorders. Unspecified Bipolar Disorder is harder to diagnose due to it not aligning with the criteria for the diagnoses and can lead your psychiatrist to a different diagnosis.

These were first discovered by Jean-Pierre Falret; he published an article that spoke about what he called "la folie circulaire," which translates to circular insanity. The article talked about people switching from mania to depression, this was the first ever documented diagnosis for bipolar disorder.

Jean-Pierre Falret also made the connection that bipolar disorder can be passed on by genetics. Jean-Pierre's research helped other Researchers and Psychiatrists to provide a further investigation into how Bipolar Disorder is passed on from different generations.

Therefore, Bipolar Disorder is mostly diagnosed because of genetics. However that is not the only reason, Bipolar Disorder causes a chemical imbalance in the brain, this means that not everyone with Bipolar Disorder will end up having it because of genetics.

The chemical imbalance affects the noradrenalin, serotonin, and dopamine levels. Noradrenalin is responsible for the flight or fight response people give, noradrenalin increases during manic episodes and decreases during depressive episodes. If your serotonin levels get too high it can trigger a manic episode making you anxious, irritated, or restless. Low levels of dopamine can cause a depressive episode.

All of these neurotransmitters help regulate emotions and pleasure within the brain. To level out these neurotransmitters people with Bipolar Disorder take mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, or antidepressants, mood stabilizers help with managing and lessening mood swings, manic and depressive episodes.

Antipsychotics help with managing the psychotic features of Bipolar Disorder. Antidepressants help with the depressive episodes. The most common mood stabilizers are lithium and quetiapine. These are prescribed by a psychiatrist after a diagnosis is formed. It can take a while to receive a diagnosis as there are certain criteria a person has to meet to be diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder.

At first the psychiatrist will send you for tests to rule out any physical illnesses before beginning the psychological part of the diagnosis. The psychological part of the diagnosis process involves the psychiatrist asking questions based off of the DSM-5. The DSM-5 is the Diagnosis and Statistical Manual of Mental Health; it is the most up to date criteria for the diagnosis of mental disorders. It includes languages for how the clinician should communicate with their patients and criteria for diagnosing disorders.

Bipolar Disorder is a complex disorder due to the highs and lows a person goes through. It can be debilitating and difficult to live with but with the right medication and help it can be manageable. If you maintain contact with your psychiatrist and team then it should not be too difficult to live with. Creating and maintaining a routine can be helpful to some people; taking medication at certain times, not staying up late or working an overnight shift(that can trigger a manic episode), maybe create a mood journal to track your moods and can possibly help you manage your moods, and scheduling and going to your appointments. These things may be simple but they can help in the long run. 

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author's note !!

this chapter is mostly for the people who don't know a lot about bipolar disorder but still want to read this story  ! i just happen to have this all written out from an older school research paper and thought it would be helpful for some viewers, i hope it helps :)

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