December 13

Yesterday I mentioned mania as part of bipolar depression. Here we go:

Common symptoms of mania may include:
* Abnormal/excessively high or euphoric feelings
* Extreme irritability or distractability
* Decreased need for sleep
* A marked increase in energy/activity
* Rapid or pressured speech
* Racing thoughts or a feeling that you can't slow down your mind
* You have troubles concentrating or you are easily distracted
* Signs of poor judgment, risk taking, or other bizarre behavior
* An exaggerated belief in one's own abilities or characteristics
* Increased sex drive
* Little or no insight into behavior changes
* In severe manic episodes, you can even have delusions and hallucinations. (But then you're probably hitting schizophrenia or some other psychotic disorder.)

Sounds like fun, huh? Well, it's not.

Bipolar mood disorder (some people still refer to it as manic-depressive illness) is an illness of the brain that afflicts about 1 percent of all people. This mood disorder is caused by extreme mood swings that go beyond the ups and downs of normal moods. It is treatable and manageable, but two-thirds of those with bipolar mood disorder go undiagnosed, folks, and therefore untreated. Why? Because when we go see the doc only when we're depressed, the doc may miss the high episodes.

So, you kind of got to force people to see a doctor during a high episode because people don't have insight into their own behavior and even enjoy their manic phases (reckless shopping, impulsive business decisions, scary driving, lots of sex -- who would not enjoy that? ;-D)

If BMD goes untreated, these folks tend to abuse drugs and alc and they have a much higher suicide risk. Believe me. I see it at work every day.  They don't recognize that their emotional problems have a treatable mental illness as their cause. With proper treatment, people with BMD can live a pretty normal and productive life.

So, what else? Symptoms usually start in young adults between the ages seventeen and twenty-five, but they can start any time in life. Even some younger kids have BMD. It's a chronic condition with recurring episodes and requires ongoing treatment. If you don't treat it, it tends to get worse.

More suicide shop talk: About half of all people with bipolar disorder attempt suicide.

Any questions? Ask the Fox. ;-D