The Reality of Bipolar in Adolescents
According to World Health Organization (WHO), the sixth leading cause of disability in the world is bipolar disease and adolescent bipolar. And the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has confirmed that a staggering number of 3.4 million children and adolescents may actually be suffering from depression, an early- onset of bipolar disorders, in the United States alone. Bipolar disease which is a mental illness has been discovered to cause a lot of problems both in how people live and their individual health.
Probable Causes of Adolescent Bipolar
Bipolar disorder is primarily caused by a chemical imbalance within the brain. For the brain to control emotions, perform decision making tasks and control physical activities, it needs to be stimulated by these neurotransmitters. A chemical imbalance would mean serious physiological as well as psychological problems. A substantial rise and fall of these neurotransmitters, particularly the norepinephrine, to the normal levels may cause bipolar disorder. The role of genetics is also an accounted cause of the disease. Children of parents suffering from the disorder are of high risk of manifesting symptoms of bipolar disease types. However, the disease would not occur just because of a single gene but because of multiple genetic combination’s as well as environmental factors that promote the onset of the bipolar disease and adolescent bipolar symptoms. Also, experiencing a period of emotional stress, drug use, illness and other events can trigger bipolar symptoms. Children suffering from anxiety disorders are highly likely to develop bipolar disorder.
Signs and Symptoms
The primary characteristic of bipolar in adolescents is the intense mood swings. There are generally three phases in bipolar; mania, depression and manic depression. Common signs and symptoms of mania include delusions and hallucinations (in severe cases), racing thoughts, jumping quickly from one idea to the next, talking so rapidly that others cant keep up and acting recklessly without thinking about the consequences. Common symptoms of bipolar depression include: concentration and memory problems, inability to experience pleasure, physical and mental sluggishness, feeling hopeless, sad, or empty,sleep problems, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, thoughts of death or suicide, appetite or Irritable, fatigue or loss of energy and weight changes. A mixed episode of bipolar disorder features symptoms of both mania or hypomania and depression. Common signs of a mixed episode include, insomnia, distractibility, depression combined with agitation. Irritability, racing thoughts and anxiety.This combination of high energy and low mood makes for a particularly high risk of suicide.
Available Treatment for Bipolar Treatment
Bipolar disorder in adolescent is curable. Proper treatment plan and early diagnosis is the most effective way of treating this illness. It is very important that when children are showing signs of the symptom such as personality change, their mood swings are constant and extreme, and suicidal, you must advice that the patients seek medical treatment immediately.
Certain medications and therapy are usually given to patients to treat bipolar disorder. Depending on the complexities of bipolar in children; they may need to take more than one drug. Therapy or psychotherapy made especially for children or adolescent are also known as talk therapy. This treatment is designed to help patients deal with their sickness.
Treating your Child
The early-onset bipolar disorder, the bipolar disorder developed by children, can be more severe than those experienced by older teens and adults. They are more likely to manifest intense mood swings than that observed from adults suffering the disease. The episodes of mood shifts can last for days, weeks, months, years or even in a lifetime. Because of the extreme and often risky behavior elicited by the disease, it is imperative that parents take the proactive role in facing and understanding the nature of early-onset bipolar disorder.