You’re Hot then You’re Cold
Have you ever met someone who seems to always be on an emotion roller coaster? You don’t know whether to approach them with caution or brace yourself for the impact of their extreme exuberance. Well, it’s a good chance they’re just over-dramatic, but it’s possible they could be suffering from something more serious—bipolar disorder.
Bipolar Disorder, also known as manic-depressive disorder, is a mood disorder that about 5.7 million adults in America suffer from. That number is important because at least half of those diagnosed believe to have had at least one bipolar episode during childhood or adolescence. Bipolar disorder is often much harder to diagnose in children and teens which is why there are a lot less statistics for those age groups. In spite of that, it has been diagnosed in children as young as 6-years-old and the median onset age is 25-years-old, so it’s likely that many more children and teens are suffering from this disorder and don’t know it.
Bipolar disorder is more than just plain old mood swing. It’s much more severe and involuntary. Those who suffer from this disorder go through period of heightened elation called mania. To clarify mania is not really a positive thing. When individuals are going through a manic episode they can be hyperactive, aggressive, reckless, very sexual, delusional, very chatty, restless and unreasonably optimistic. They also go through periods of depressions. Some people even go through a mixture of these two states. As you can see the symptoms of bipolar disorder can make everyday life very difficult. This is especially true for adolescents with the disorder because they can go through these highs and lows all in one day. Bipolar disorder can lead people to ruin relationships, lose jobs, perform poorly in school, abuse substances, self-harm, and even commit suicide.
There’s not an exact set of causes for bipolar disorder. It’s been linked chemical imbalances in the brain, genetics and environmental factors. Some say it can even be triggered by PMS in girls. All in all, bipolar disorder can be managed by medications along with some type of counseling or psychotherapy.
