Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition that causes dramatic shifts in a person\u2019s mood, energy levels, and behavior. People with the disorder experience profound emotional highs (known as mania or hypomania) and extreme lows (depression).<\/p>\n
Here are six things you should know about bipolar disorder:<\/p>\n
The highs and lows of bipolar disorder<\/a> are very different from ordinary mood swings.<\/p>\n This is not somebody who is temperamental and feels up one moment and down the next. This is a disorder where the mood changes are more extreme and long-lasting; they can last for days or weeks \u2014 and they cause functional impairment.<\/p>\n During periods of mania, people with bipolar disorder often behave impulsively, make reckless decisions and take unusual risks. They may talk faster than normal, seem to need little or no sleep, and feel elated, irritable, or \u201cwired.\u201d<\/p>\n During depressive episodes, they experience deep sadness and lethargy. They may be unable to do simple things and have trouble concentrating and making simple decisions.<\/p>\n Studies indicate that as many as 70 percent of bipolar patients initially receive an incorrect diagnosis, and it takes most patients 5 to 10 years to be diagnosed. The most common misdiagnosis is depression.<\/p>\n That\u2019s because bipolar patients usually seek out help when they\u2019re depressed.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to get the right diagnosis because research shows that antidepressants can trigger mania or rapid cycling between moods in bipolar patients.<\/p>\n Studies show that about 10 percent of new cases of the bipolar disorder occur after age 50. Many who are first diagnosed late in life have had undiagnosed bipolar disorder for decades, and their symptoms become more pronounced with age.<\/p>\n In older patients with bipolar disorder, mania is often expressed as irritability or agitation rather than the typical euphoria or \u201cup\u201d feeling described by younger patients.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also common for older adults to experience \u201cmixed episodes\u201d; meaning they exhibit both manic and depressive symptoms at the same time.<\/p>\n Mood-stabilizing medications have been around for decades, and they are extremely effective as a first-line treatment for bipolar disorder. Many patients benefit from taking other drugs as well, such as antipsychotics or anti-anxiety medications.<\/p>\n In the past, some experts believed that bipolar disorder symptoms \u201cburned out\u201d as people aged, but the latest research shows that\u2019s not the case.<\/p>\n Even if symptoms seem to subside, it\u2019s important for patients to continue taking their medication, no matter their age, to minimize dangerous ups and downs.<\/p>\n If you or someone you love have bipolar disorder, or you\u2019re noticing symptoms, consider getting professional help immediately.<\/p>\n Find a counselor or psychologist that offers the best bipolar disorder treatment Kolkata<\/a> based. Google \u201cbest doctors for bipolar disorder near me<\/a>\u201c, look at different names, do some research, and choose an expert who has extensive experience and a proven track record.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition that causes dramatic shifts in a person\u2019s mood, energy levels, and behavior. People with the disorder experience profound emotional highs (known as mania…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,150,131,79],"tags":[31,145,134,82],"class_list":["post-162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-best-psychiatrist-in-kolkata","category-bipolar-disorder-treatment-in-kolkata","category-psychiatrist-in-kolkata","category-top-psychiatrist-in-kolkata","tag-best-psychiatrist-in-kolkata","tag-bipolar-disorder-treatment-in-kolkata","tag-psychiatrist-in-kolkata","tag-top-psychiatrist-in-kolkata"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceinmindpsychiatrist.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceinmindpsychiatrist.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceinmindpsychiatrist.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceinmindpsychiatrist.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceinmindpsychiatrist.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/peaceinmindpsychiatrist.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":449,"href":"https:\/\/peaceinmindpsychiatrist.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162\/revisions\/449"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceinmindpsychiatrist.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceinmindpsychiatrist.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceinmindpsychiatrist.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceinmindpsychiatrist.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}2. It can be difficult to diagnose<\/h2>\n
3. It can affect people of all ages, including older adults<\/h3>\n
4. Symptoms in older adults may be less typical<\/h3>\n
5. Treatment for bipolar disorder is often effective<\/h3>\n
6. Continuing treatment is important<\/h3>\n
Takeaway<\/h2>\n