Bipolar Disorder “A Social Taboo”

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depression, is a psychological illness. It manifests itself in both forms; episodes of depression and episodes of mania. Bipolar disorder comes under the broad spectrum of mood disorders, during which one suffers drastic mood swings. Bipolar disorder can influence any gender, age, and society and it usually develops into a noticeable degree in adolescent years. As the disorder progresses, episodes become acute and unpredictable. People suffering with bipolar disorder experience tremendous high in a form of great energy, hyper activity, and self esteem when in manic state, where as in depressive state they experience keen sadness, loss of interest in everything, and suicidal thoughts. There are two types of bipolar disorder; bipolar disorder 1 and 2. Bipolar disorder is a chronic illness but it can be controlled by psychotherapy and appropriate plan of medications.

Causes and other Factors:

Extensive researches and studies in the field of biological and psychological sciences indicate several factors as the causes of bipolar disorder but exact source is still under study.

• Biological Causes and Factors: Numerous reasons strongly suggest that bipolar disorder  has biological roots:

o Bipolar disorder responds to biological and chemical drug treatment programs.
o Like any physical illness bipolar disorder disrupts daily body functioning capacity.
o Bipolar disorder is heritable and genetically transmitted illness, as evidence has been found that in 90% cases mania and depression runs in family.
o Neurobiological dysfunctions (brain’s inability of function) are recorded as another major cause for bipolar disorder. An imbalance chemical release from neurotransmitters (brain cells) contributes to depression.
o Hormones play a significant role in bipolar disorder as hormones regulates basic bodily functions.

• Psychological Causes and Factors: Psychological studies have exclusively focused on depressive episodes, because strong biological evidence have been presented and granted for mania.

o Environmental events can induce depression in people who are vulnerable to stress.
o People with traumatic past tend to fall in to depression.
o People who depend on the approval of others are more likely to develop depression.
o Poor nurturing and upbringing is another factor which leads to depression.

Complications:

As in any other psychological disorder, bipolar disorder is a muddle of other mental and physical limitations and problems. As disorder progresses, complications increase and become acute. People suffering with bipolar disorder especially type II experience anxiety attacks and attention deficiency problems. Certain problems for patients and their families include:

• Suicide: People suffering with bipolar disorder, particularly type II, stay at high suicide risk. During the episodes of acute depression, suicidal tendencies are foremost in mind. Unattended Rapid cycling and simultaneous depression and mania cause patients to lose control and commit suicide to end their despair and elation.

• Cognitive Issues (thinking, learning, and memory issues): People with bipolar disorder principally type II suffer from serious cognitive issues. Sometimes medication programs trigger off these problems. In the course of illness, these issues generally are; inability to think and reason, mental inflexibility, and short and long term spell of amnesia (memory loss). Children suffering with bipolar disorder face leading inabilities and attention deficiencies.
• Behavioral Issues: A significant number of people exhibit an intense sense of productivity and creativity in manic phase. However, a large percentage suffers impaired thinking and judgment, and distorted and incoherent speech in their manic phase, which leads to inappropriate and dangerous behavior.
• Substance Abuse: Bipolar patients often find solace in oblivious of alcohol, cocaine, nicotine, and marijuana. Substance abuse is high among adolescents with bipolar disorder, as they become afraid and uncertain as their illness progresses. People unknowingly suffering from bipolar disorder; tend to self-medicate them selves before seeking professional help. They take sedatives and other relaxants in order to regain control. People suffering with bipolar disorder tend to react negatively to normal and regular medicines.      

For some people, bipolar disorder 1 causes severe depressive episodes whereas for others depressive episodes are mild and infrequent, as for people suffering with bipolar disorder ll, depressive episodes are always acute and frequent where as manic episodes are mild and infrequent. In the case of bipolar disorder ll, these manic episodes are known as Hypomania.

The Major Causes of Depression.

Depression is a condition that is more often than not misunderstood.  This condition does not discriminate any one and can occur to anyone despite your race or color. The most interesting bit about depression is that individuals cannot tell when they are suffering from it since it is not painful like most of the other ailments.  Women are much more susceptible to this condition than men. It’s alleged that 1 in every 4 women will suffer from depression and 1 in every 8 men will suffer from depression at one stage of their life. Depression is becoming a real issue in the society today by and by. There are many causes of depression and this write up outlines some of them.

Toxins:

Contaminants and heavy metals usually cause depression in various ways because about 90% of the pollutants consumed on a daily basis inhibit the intensities of serotonin in our bodies. Various studies have associated toxins with depression. Prescribed drugs have been associated with depression too.

Hormones

Women suffer from tension due to hormonal changes just before menstruation and after childbirth which in most cases causing depression. Hormonal imbalances as well as endocrine problems that have endured for a long period of time are known to cause depression.

Work environment

Most people work in environments that are not conducive because of a lot of pressure from the boss to meet deadlines. In most cases, they are torn between quitting their jobs and family responsibilities hence amounting to depression. Unwelcome sexual advances so as to get favors at the work place are common in most work places although most people would rather not talk about it. This raises a lot of concern for the affected party thus leading to depression.

Home environment

There are quite a number of homes that are full of sadness and grief brought about by dealing with an unfaithful spouse, impotence, illness, alcohol, inability to conceive, depressive parents or children and abject poverty. A person who grows up in such a home becomes prone to depression in the later life because the circumstances of the environment one grows up in replicates as we advance in age.

Anger

Repressed anger is in most cases denoted as depression. More often than not, we get angry unconsciously and we are incapable of conveying it. This amount to depression as we bring the anger upon ourselves thus becoming a disturbance to our minds for a long period of time.

Circumstances

Situations such as unexpected loss of a loved one, loss of employment, terminal illness, grisly accidents or becoming bankrupt will in most cases amount to depression.

Chemical imbalances

Chemical imbalances which occur in the brain may also lead to depression. These are usually brought about by drugs, excessive use of alcohol, stress, medicine and surrounding environment among other causes.

There should be no cause of alarm for patients suffering from depression and the caregivers. This is because recovery is readily obtainable in many semblances. Medication from a reputable medical facility and natural health care are the best solutions. Healthy diet, exercise, avoiding anger, detoxification are other ways of dealing with depression.