Imagine your friend introduces you to a new member in you theater actor’s guild. In no time at all, she catches everyone’s attention with her energy and extraordinary cheeriness. After the nights practice has finished, your new found friend out of the blue invites you to go to the disco. You decide you can not go but give her your home number instead. Later that night, you awake to a call and here her sobbing on the phone. She is going on about how miserable her life is and how she just wants to end it right than and there. There is nobody that would want to be in this situation but what you have just read about is the reality of a brain disorder called bipolar mania or manic-depressive illness.
Bipolar Mania and What It’s About
This bipolar mania is a biological disorder characterized by manic and depressive episodes. A person suffering from bipolar disorder displays symptoms of extreme exhilaration at one instant then severe depression the next, as described above. Particularly, the manic signs and symptoms involve amplified energy, disturbing behaviour, poor judgement, nervousness, and a reduced need for sleep. On the other hand, the depressive state is known by feelings of hopelessness, intense grief, and a loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities among others. The fact that is most frightening about bipolar mania is that an individual may resort to suicide if untreated.
Statistics have shown that bipolar mania is affecting a significant number of individuals in the United States alone. It’s a staggering 5.7 million of the total population. Should you or anyone of the people you know have bipolar, you need to get ready with all the vital information especially on how you can be of best help to them.
Treatment
Though bipolar mania is a long term challenge, the condition can be treated through a combination of approaches. The first is through the medical method. Mood stabilizers are the medications available for this condition. The more common one is Lithium (Eskalith, Lithobid) while others are prescribed with anticonvulsant medicines such as valproate (Depakote) or carbamazepine (Tegretol). On top of this, individuals with bipolar mania also see mental health professionals for cognitive or behavioral psychotherapy. Psychosocial approaches to bipolar mania are deemed important to recovery as it involves psychoeducation, family therapy and interpersonal therapy.
The Bipolar Support Groups
The medical and psychological approaches will not be successful if not used in conjunction with the other methods. A bipolar mania sufferer’s most valuable resource can be found by joining bipolar support groups. A variety of in depth discussions about the disorder are made in these bipolar support groups which can be very educational. These support groups help people relate well to each other by allowing them to share true-to-life experiences.
Being part of a support group offers a warm environment where a person doesn’t have to feel alone and alienated from others. Furthermore, bipolar support groups provide an opportunity to openly talk about the hardships and the pains while gaining acceptance from others. Together, the group can brainstorm about local resources and how to get government support.
Prognosis
Whether a person with bipolar mania can or cannot cope with the disorder is out of the question. Whether he gets into a bipolar support group which will see him through the process is the real determinant which has treatment value. Indeed, individuals with bipolar mania are on their way to a fully-functioning life with the right kind of help from the right kind of people.
