Elizabeth Watterson

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Bipolar I Disorder

• Elizabeth Watterson
• Honors Intro to Psychology
• Final Project

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Brief Definition

• Sometimes considered the same as manic depression
• Bipolar means that your moods swing back and
  forth between 2 opposite emotional states
• - you experience periods of major depression in
  which you feel sad, lonely, weak, and helpless
• - other times you may have manic periods in
  which you feel incredibly energetic and confident
  and experience extreme sensations of anger,
  irritation or happiness

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Example

• - Mood goes from low and despairing (depressed
  phase) to elated and hypersensitive (manic phase)
  and then back to low and despairing.
• - Phases are radically different and often
  interspersed with seemingly normal periods,
  making bipolar disorder difficult to diagnose

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Other Facts

• Frequently when Bipolar Disorder first appears,
  both the manic and depressive phases might be
  somewhat mild
• Big clue of Bipolar Depression You start
  behaving hyperactively or as if you have too much
  energy
• According to statistics, 2 out of 3 times doctors
  fail to initially recognize symptoms of Bipolar
  Disorder
• When manic depressives are in a milder manic
  phase- full of happiness, energy, and confidence-
  they and those around them never stop to think
  that anything is wrong

• According to the DSM-IV, 60 to 70 of Manic
  Episodes occur immediately before or after a
  Major Depressive episode
• Studies on the course of Bipolar Disorder prior
  to lithium treatment suggest that, on average, 4
  episodes occur in 10 years
• A small percentage of people with bipolar
  disorder undergo as many as 4 or more mood
  episodes in a year- called rapid cycling
• The interval between episodes tends to decrease
  as the individual ages

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Depression

• Depression is a disease that can get worse if
  left untreated by a professional
• It affects your emotional state, leaving you
  exhausted or panicky, teary or desperate
• Also affects your physical well-being, leaving
  you tired, with headaches, stomachaches, shaking
  and/or fidgeting

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Depression Statistics

• According to the American Psychiatric
  Association, one out of every five Americans will
  experience depression during his or her lifetime

• According to the National Institute of Mental
  Health, of the 18 million Americans who are
  depressed, up to an estimated 2 million are
  teenagers

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Mania

• Mania is a state of high, unnatural excitement
• In a manic phase, you tend to become hyperactive,
  overflowing with nonstop energy- so much energy
  which can leave you feeling worried or anxious

• It can lead to panic attacks, during which you
  become immobilized because you fear anything and
  everything
• Sometimes an episode can make you obsessive

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Manic Depression

• The cycles of mania and depression are
  unpredictable and can last for very different
  lengths of time
• You can experience mania and depression at the
  same time
• Most people with bipolar depression have extreme
  cycles only once every few years

• Some manic depressives may go for weeks, months,
  even years without experiencing any extreme ups
  and downs
• -instead they have normal moods like everyone
  else, this is called euthymia

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Who Gets Bipolar Disorder?

• It is often a hereditary disease
• It more frequently appears in young adults and
  continues throughout life
• A persons race and national origin have nothing
  to do with the occurrence of Bipolar Disorder

• It is equally common in men and women
• The first episode in males is likely to be a
  Manic episode, in females it is likely to be a
  Major Depressive episode
• It is a recurrent disorder- more than 90 of
  individuals who have a single Manic episode go on
  to have future episodes

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What causes Bipolar Disorder?

• Biochemical Factors
• Genetic Factors
• Environmental Factors
• Psychological Factors

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Biochemical Factors

• Mania- too many neurotransmitters being produced
  in the brain
• Depression- too few neurotransmitters being
  produced
• Such excesses or deficiencies upset the
  communication between your brain and your body
• Often, once an imbalance is detected, doctors are
  able to readjust levels with the use of medicine

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Genetic Factors

• Inherited genes can make you more susceptible to
  manic depression
• According to the DSM-IV, first-degree biological
  relatives of individuals with Bipolar Depression
  have elevated rates of Bipolar Disorder (4- 24)
• -this is proven through twin and adoption studies

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Environmental Factors

• There are some aspects of your environment that
  you have no control over, therefore it is easy to
  feel overwhelmed and anxious
• When under pressure, your body produces increased
  amounts of certain hormones- when you are anxious
  or afraid, you will have excess amounts of a
  stress hormone called Cortisol
• If these high levels stay in your body for a long
  time, they can have an effect on both your brain
  and your nerve cells
• -these changes can lead to serious depression

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Psychological Factors

• Your attitude can affect the way that a
  depressive illness affects you
• Example If you tend to look at things
  negatively, if you lack self-confidence, and if
  you worry too much and find it difficult to talk
  about problems, you will be less able to deal
  with the mood swings you are experiencing,
  therefore you also have a stronger chance of
  becoming seriously depressed

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Effects of Bipolar Disorder

• It can cause you to experience certain sensations
  and to behave or act in certain ways
• Some of the sensations and reactions are common
  to all kinds of depressive disorders, but others
  are specific to manic depression

• It affects your creativity
• It can lead to drug and alcohol abuse
• It can also lead to suicide

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Creativity

• During manic episodes, people tend to have a high
  creative output
• Example Vincent Van Gogh was a manic depressive
  who experienced severe mood swings. He even
  sliced off his ear during a fit of despair
• Other famous manic depressives Mark Twain,
  Virginia Woolf, Lord Byron, Edgar Allan Poe,
  Michelangelo, Tennessee Williams, and Robert
  Schumann

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Drug and Alcohol Abuse

• According to the National Institute of Mental
  Health, 60 of people with Bipolar Disorder are
  also diagnosed with drug or alcohol abuse
• Used to dull the extreme moods experienced during
  both manic and depressive phases
• It temporarily masks the symptoms, but over time
  it makes the symptoms worse
• Drugs and alcohol can act on the brains
  neurotransmitters in a way that over stimulates
  the nerve cell pathways that govern emotions
• This can upset your natural mood-balancing
  systems, causing you to experience even more
  severe mood swings

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Suicide

• People who suffer from bipolar disorder are 30
  times more likely to commit suicide than those
  without a mood disorder
• When coupled with substance abuse and aggressive
  behavior, the risks for suicide grow even higher
• Between 20 to 50 of manic depressives attempt
  suicide at least once

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Treatment

• According to the National Institute of Mental
  Health, less than 30 of people suffering from
  depression seek treatment
• Manic depression is a chronic illness for which
  there is no cure
• The most effective treatment is a combination of
  carefully controlled and continued medication
  along with therapy and good lifestyle habits

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Why?

• During a depressed episode, you will likely feel
  so tired and hopeless that getting help will seem
  impossible
• During a manic episode, you will feel extreme
  happiness, self-confidence, and invincibility
  that will persuade you that you have never felt
  better
• Between both mood extremes, you will likely have
  moments when you feel normal

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Medication

• Traditional medication used for Bipolar Disorder
  is a natural substance called Lithium
• In 1995, the FDA approved Depakote
• One of the most successful medications that has
  not been approved by the FDA is Tegretol

• Zoloft, Paxil, or Prozall (all antidepressants)
  can also be given with the mood stabilizers, but
  using antidepressants without the mood
  stabilizing drugs can cause a manic phase very
  quickly

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Medication Continued

• Treating Manic Depression is complex because what
  works for one person might not work for someone
  else
• Often, people in a manic phase will feel so good
  that they think they dont need any medicine, or
  their heads will be so filled with thoughts that
  they can forget to take their medicine

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Other important treatments

• It is essential to see a professional who is an
  expert on what you are going through
• It is also important to keep a healthy body by
  eating balanced, nutritious meals, exercising,
  dealing with stress, relaxing, getting plenty of
  sleep, and sharing your feelings.

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Works Cited

• American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and
  Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth
  Edition. Washington, DC, American Psychiatric
  Association, 1994.
• Harmon, Dan. The Tortured Mind The Many Faces
  of Manic Depression. The Encyclopedia of
  Psychological Disorders. USA Chelsea House
  Publishers, 1998.
• Johnson, Catherine, and Ratey, John J. Shadow
  Syndromes. New York Pantheon Books, 1997.
• Sommers, Michael A. Bipolar Disorder and Manic
  Depressive Illness. Everything You Need to Know
  About. New York The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc,
  2000. 64.