Bipolar Disorder Essay

Bipolar Disorder
Composition II
October 27, 2012

Bipolar Disorder (BPD) is a psychological mood disorder where patients suffer severe mood swings. Many sufferers feel hopeless and confused the majority of the time. They feel like everyone is against them and stay away from social settings. A lot of people without the disorder believe it’s not a real mental disability. And feel that the ones who claim to have BPD are just pretending to be sick to get attention from others. With the proper treatment of medications and therapy, stabilization of symptoms can be successful.

Bipolar Disorder (BPD) is a mental illness that affects a lot of throughout the world. There is treatment for this disease such as medication and therapy. Therapy is recommended by the doctor because just taking medication can help but if the patient talks about the problems their having then the medication can help more because the issues that come with BPD are not being held inside and are being worked on.
There are numerous amounts of symptoms with BPD. They range from just being easily distracted to possible suicide attempts. Also, being extremely irritable agitated, or being very jumpy are a few signs of having BPD in the manic state. The signs/symptoms aren’t as severe in the depressive state, they range from: isolation from friends and family, loss of interest in activities once enjoyed, feeling tired, also having problems concentrating, remembering, and making decisions, and worst of all abusing drugs and alcohol. (Anonymous)
Treatment for BPD usually consists of medication and therapy. Some patients decline the therapy because they feel uncomfortable talking with someone they don’t know. Yes, the medication will work alone, but it is recommended to have the therapy to be able to deal with the depression and anxiety that comes from being bipolar. Many times the medication a patient is put on done not work and the doctor had to continually change it until the best one is found.
The symptoms of BPD are often over-looked or misdiagnosed because they look like symptoms of other problems, such as depression. The illness often develops in a person’s late teens or early adult years, and at least half of all cases start before age 25. (McLane, L.) There is no single gene or environmental factor that causes BPD. Like other mental illnesses, multiple factors together may contribute to the illness. BPD has a strong genetic component. According to the Mayo Clinic, 60% of bipolar cases have a family history. (Brigham, Ed.)
Living with someone with Bipolar Disorder, is extremely stressful and exhausting. You never know from minute to minute when the mood is going to switch from bad to good or good to bad. It’s like turning on a light (flicking the switch); just that fast a mood and situation can change.
Bipolar Disorder or manic-depressive disorder does not increase the risk of committing violent crimes. (Karolinska Institutet). Although, if someone with BPD are abusing drugs or alcohol then they can become violent. The public debate on violent crime usually assumes that violence in the mentally ill is a direct result of the perpetrator’s illness. Previous research has also suggested that patients with bipolar disorder-also known as manic-depressive disorder-are more likely to behave violently. (Karolinska Institutet).

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