Understanding Bipolar Disorder – Its Symptoms and Causes

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is a mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings that include emotional highs (mania or hypomania) and lows (depression), hence the name. The affected person, when depressed, feels sad and hopeless and loses interest or pleasure in most activities. But when their mood shifts to mania or hypomania (less extreme than mania), they may feel euphoric, full of energy and unusually irritable. These mood swings can affect sleep, energy, activity, judgement, behaviour, and the ability to think clearly. According to WHO’s mental health publication, there are around 8.7 million or 87 lakh people suffering from bipolar disorder at a given time.

Symptoms

Bipolar disorder is a mental condition. And like all mental conditions, there are no specific symptoms or signs. The condition is hard to diagnose. The common symptoms can therefore be divided into those of mania, and those of depression.

Mania

• Feeling overly happy, or “high” for long periods of time.
• Having a decreased need for sleep
• Talking very fast, often with racing thoughts
• Feeling extremely restless or impulsive
• Becoming easily distracted
• Overconfidence in one’s abilities
• Engaging in risky behaviour

Depression

• Feeling sad or hopeless for long periods of time
• Withdrawing from friends and family
• Losing interest in activities that you once enjoyed
• Having a significant change in appetite
• Feeling severe fatigue or lack of energy
• Having problems with memory, concentration and decision making
• Having a preoccupation to death, thinking about suicide

If you or your loved ones experience these symptoms, it is advisable to see a doctor. There are top multi-specialty, high-facility hospitals in Gurgaon and NCR that have separate departments for the treatment of such psychiatric diseases. There are such hospitals in Patna, and one such hospital in Darbhanga in the Bihar area.

Causes
The exact cause of bipolar disorder is unknown, but researchers believe that several factors may be involved, including:
• Biological differences: People who have bipolar disorder appear to have physical changes in their brains. The significance of these changes is still uncertain.
• Genetics: Bipolar disorder is more common in people who have a first relative, such as a sibling or a parent, with the condition.

There are also some factors that may increase the risk of developing bipolar disorder or act as a trigger for the first episode. These include:
• Periods of high stress, such as a parent or sibling, with bipolar disorder
• Drug or alcohol abuse