Saturday, January 24, 2009

Signs in Adolescent Bipolar

By Ken P Doyle

Bipolar disorder or manic-depressive illness is a serious brain illness. It has a good prognosis if treated and managed well. This disorder is marked by unusual and extreme mood, energy, and behavioral changes. The disorder can be diagnosed during childhood years but is more common during the adolescent and adult stages.

Bipolar illness in children may look different to the adult ones. Manic-depression (mix of mania and depression) in children is usually having an ongoing, continuous mood disturbance. Episodes of manic "depression in adolescents may be triggered by a loss or an event that is traumatic. The illness can come again independently and worse by the experience of stress. Without proper treatment bipolar illness can come again or may get worse.

Substance abuse and bipolar disorder in adolescents

Some children are normal up until puberty and then experience a sudden onset of bipolar illness this children are more vulnerable to addiction to drugs and alcohol. Peers and teens may use drugs and alcohol to try and control their mood swings and insomnia. It is important to note that if substance abuse is diagnosed with bipolar disorder they must be treated at the same time.

Dramatic mood swings from very high to low and normal mood in between can be experienced by adolescent with bipolar. Dramatic changes in behavior, mood and energy level can swing from very high to very low. Bipolar highs are called mania, the low depression and the middle hippomania

Major signs in adolescents with bipolar disorder are: very unusual happiness, irritable and expansive mood, sleeping difficulty and not get tired, very talkative and hard to interrupt, overworked mind and a lot of physical activity. At the mania stage big impractical delusions are evident with signs of inflated power, self worth identity and knowledge. The person with bipolar is in a critical stage if he/she may be engaging in risky activities and hallucinations.

Some treatment options.

There are several ways bipolar disorder can be treated, like:

Medication

Several types of medication are prescribed by doctors depending on the symptoms and the severity of the illness. To have the desired effects doctors can combine few medicines together. Parents of bipolar patients must be warned that stopping these medications all of a sudden can be harmful. Always go back and seek the doctors advice if anything happens.

Psychotherapy, also known as talking therapy is the most commonly used therapy for adolescent bipolar disorder. The aim of the talk therapy, which is quite effective, is to try and manage teens routines and to have a change in their behavior. Patients taking this therapy must complete many sessions to show any improvements in their illness.

Bipolar and Support groups

Letting the affected teenagers communicate and open up in bipolar support group can help them manage their disorder by learning from other people. Knowing that there are also others who are suffering from such condition will give them the encouragement to pursue treatments.

If your teenager is showing symptoms of bipolar disorder, you should immediately take appropriate action. Bipolar disorder can be very dangerous and is something that should not be taken for granted. It isn't just like the normal ups and downs that teenagers go through; it's actually more powerful than that. Some may try to harm themselves or even attempt to commit suicide. Because of these chances, adolescents with bipolar depression need not only take bipolar medications but also therapies and bipolar support groups as well to help them cope up with the - 20897

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