Bipolar affective disorder is associated with suicide, mania, electroconvulsive therapy,
hypomania,psychomotor agitation,
inflated self-esteem, racing thoughts, distractibility, hypersomnia, insomnia, depression,aggression and suicide
Bipolar disorder, or manic-depressive
illness, is one of the most common, severe, and persistent mental illnesses. Bipolar disorder is characterized by periods of deep, prolonged, and profound depression alternating with periods of an excessively elevated irritable mood known as mania. The symptoms of mania include a decreased need for sleep, pressurised speech, increased libido, reckless behavior without regard for consequences, grandiosity, and severe thought disturbances, which may or may not include psychosis. Between these highs and lows, patients usually experience periods of higher functionality and can lead a productive life. Bipolar disorder is a serious lifelong struggle and challenge.
Bipolar disorder, or manic-depressive illness, was recognized by Hippocrates, who described such patients as amic or melancholic. In 1899, Dr Kraepelin defined manic-depressive illness and noted that patients with manic-depressive illness lacked deterioration and dementia, which he associated with schizophrenia.
Bipolar disorder constitutes one pole of a spectrum of mood disorders including bipolar I, bipolar II, cyclothymia (oscillating high and low moods), and major depression. BPI also is referred to as classic manic-depression, characterized by distinct episodes of major depression contrasting with episodes of mania, which lead to severe impairment of function. In comparison, BPII is a milder disorder consisting of depression alternating with periods of
hypomania. Hypomania may be thought of as a less severe form of mania that does not include psychotic symptoms or lead to major impairment of social or occupational function.
Family studies indicate that bipolar disorder has a genetic component. In fact, first-degree relatives of a person with bipolar disorder are 7 times more likely to develop bipolar disorder than the rest of the population. Genetic markers identified the G2 locus as the possible source of Bipolar Disorder.
Loss of myelin is thought to disrupt communication between neurons, leading to some of the thought disturbances observed in bipolar disorder and related illnesses. Brain imaging studies of persons with bipolar disorder also show abnormal myelination in several brain regions associated with this illness. Gene expression and neuroimaging studies of persons with schizophrenia and major depression demonstrate similar findings, indicating that mood disorders and schizophrenia share biological similarities.
Neuroimaging studies of individuals with bipolar disorder suggest evidence of cell loss in these brain regions. Thus, another suggested cause of bipolar disorder is damage to cells in the critical brain circuitry that regulates emotion. According to this hypothesis, mood stabilizers and antidepressants are thought to alter mood by stimulating cell survival pathways and increasing levels of neurotrophic factors to improve cellular resiliency.
It suggests that the more episodes a person experiences, the more he or she will have in the future, underscoring the need for long-term treatment.
Some practitioners see depression as loss of self-esteem and a sense of worthlessness. Therefore, mania serves as a defense against the feelings of depression.
Patients with bipolar disorder need outpatient monitoring for both medications and psychotherapy and education.
Some of the most capable thinkers of the 20th century, notably, Ezra Pound and Friedrich Nietsche were long term inmates of Psychiatric Institutions.