Bipolar Syndrome, Bipolar Information, Signs of Bipolar and Bipolar Condition

For further information on Bipolar Treatments and Help Visit Bipolar Disorder Uncovered

History of Bipolar

The history of bipolar disorder dates back many centuries although it has only been in fairly recent times that the term ‘bipolar disorder’ has been used.

The documented history of bipolar disorder dates back as far as the time of ancient Greece, over 2000 years ago. Even then the extremes of mood - melancholia (depression) and mania were clearly identified - as remitting fluctuating illnesses.

It was Aretaeus of Cappadocia, a celebrated Greek physician, who first put forward that these extremes of mood were a part of the same illness, but it is not until much later that this view gained momentum.

In Paris during the 18th Century there were significant changes to how people with a mental illness were being cared for. With more compassionate treatment, the importance of observing and documenting illnesses was also emphasized, and the connection between mania and depression was again revived. This only occurred due to detailed clinical records that enabled some important re-connections to be made.

In the 1850’s the French psychiatrist Jean-Pierre Falret noted bipolar disorder as a "folie circulaire" - highlighting the circular nature of bipolar disorder, with changes from mania to depression. "Folie" in French refers to mania, madness, craziness or insanity, with the literal translation being ‘circular insanity’.

Around the same time Jules Baillarger a French neurologist described these extreme mood changes as being merely different phases of the same illness "folli a double forme", translated as ‘dual-form insanity’.

The German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin in 1899 first used the term manic depressive illness to describe these phases. However, it wasn’t until much later that another German, Karl Kleist, in 1953 separated out unipolar depression where there are no periods of mania or hypomania, and the term bipolar disorder was born.

For more articles on Bipolar Disorder and for an Online Bipolar Self Help Program visit MoodSwings.

By Sue Lauder
Published: 8/22/2008

For further information on Bipolar Treatments and Help Visit Bipolar Disorder Uncovered 

 

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For Further Information on Bipolar Treatments and Help Visit Bipolar Disorder Uncovered

Bipolar Disorder or Manic Depression Causes and Treatment

Bipolar disorder, or manic-depressive illness (MDI), is one of the most common, severe, and persistent mental illnesses.

Bipolar disorder is a psychiatric condition defined as recurrent episodes of significant disturbance in mood. These disturbances can occur on a spectrum that ranges from debilitating depression to unbridled mania. Individuals suffering from bipolar disorder typically experience fluid states of mania, hypomania or what is referred to as a mixed state in conjunction with depressive episodes.

These clinical states typically alternate with a normal range of mood. While dealing with bipolar disorder isn’t always easy, it doesn’t have to run your life. With proper treatment and a solid support system, people with bipolar disorder are capable of leading rich and fulfilling lives. They can hold jobs, sustain loving marriages, raise children, and be productive members of society. But in order to successfully manage bipolar disorder, it is essential to fully understand the condition and its challenges.

What Causes Bipolar Disorder?

Doctors and scientists don’t know the exact cause of bipolar disorder, but they think that biochemical, genetic, and environmental factors may all be involved. It’s believed this condition is caused by imbalances in certain brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. If the neurotransmitters aren’t in balance, the brain’s mood-regulating system won’t work the way it should.

Symptoms

In adults, mania is usually episodic with an elevation of mood and increased energy and activity. In children, mania is commonly chronic rather than episodic, and usually presents in mixed states with irritability, anxiety and depression. In adults and children, during depression there is lowering of mood and decreased energy and activity. During a mixed episode both mania and depression can occur on the same day.

How is bipolar disorder treated?

In bipolar disorder treatment, the leading thought may be the use of medications. They are, in actuality, a potent medium in the management of the disorder. One just needs study at the massive group of medications that is accessible to see that medicine has been broadly used in bipolar disorder management. Lithium carbonate was the premier significant breakthrough in the medications for bipolar disorder treatment. It belongs to a lineage of medications called "attitude stabilizers". These medications assist to arrest or ease manic episodes. They also aid to ward off the extremes of depression, such as suicide. bipolar disorder management may also embody the use of alternate attitude stabilizers that were originally used as anticonvulsants . These have been shown to maintain a tremendous result on mood. Some of these, such as valproic acid and carbamazepine, are tried and true.

Lamotrigine, gabapentin, and topiramate have also been used for this purpose but not conclusively prov-en noticeable. Caution must be taken in the use of antidepressant treatment as a portion of bipolar disorder treatment. Attitude stabilizers are mainly tried first, because antidepressants can trigger manic episodes or rapid-cycling. If an antidepressant must be used, there are reliable ones which are less likely to cause these problems. One of these is bupropion . The management of psychotic symptoms has evolved rapidly in modern times. At first, there were potent anti-psychotics. The first of these were said to put the mind in a "cerebral straight jacket". They essentially stopped all thought. They also had an extreme side effects known as tardive dyskinesia . This causes everlasting neurological damages.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

Doctors use this form of treatment mainly in people who have episodes of major depression associated with suicidal tendencies or in people whose medication has proved to be ineffective. In this treatment, electrodes are taped to your head. Then, while you’re anesthetized and after you’ve received a muscle relaxant, a small amount of electrical current is passed through your brain for less than a second. This current produces a brain seizure, but because of the muscle relaxant, your body remains calm.

ECT profoundly affects brain metabolism and blood flow to various areas of the brain. How that correlates to easing depression remains unknown, but this therapy is often highly effective.

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By Mike Hussey
Published: 10/27/2007

For Further Information on Bipolar Treatments and Help Visit Bipolar Disorder Uncovered 

 

Bipolar Disorder Medication

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