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Help For Your Depression - Help For Your Depression

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Help For Your Depression - June 2008

Bipolar Affective Disorder

June 14th 2008 01:28

Manic depression captures my soul.
I know what I want but I just don’t know
how to go about getting it
Jimi Hendrix

This line from the Hendrix song paints an abstract picture of what it's like to struggle with manic depression.Society has always grappled with mental disorders and those that suffer from them.In about 400 B.C,greek physician Hippocrates made a humanistic break through of mental disturbance when he claimed that abnormal behavior has physical causes.His theory was that the symptoms of psychopathology were caused by an imbalance among four body fluids called“humors".Blood,phlegm (mucus),black bile,and yellow bile.Those with an excess of black bile,for example,were inclined to melancholy or depression,while those who had an abundance of blood were warm hearted.His view incorporated mental disorder into medicine and very much influenced people in the Western world until the end of the Roman Empire.In the middle ages,Hippocrates ideas were overshadowed by the beliefs of the medieval Church that attributed abnormal behavior to demons and witchcraft and that these mental disorders were the work of the devil.In the late 18th century,the“disease”view that Hippocrates realized re-emerged with the rise of science which resulted in the medical model that explained that mental disorders are diseases of the mind and are like ordinary diseases that have objective causes that require specific treatments.Although we have come a long way since the days of Hippocrates and the ideals of the medieval Church,we still have a long way to go in understanding and accepting the causes and symptoms of some of these potentially paralyzing disorders.

Bipolar disorder is another form of depression that is also known as manic-depressive illness.This disorder causes shifts in a person’s mood and energy to function in every day life.These mood swings are more severe than just the usual ups and downs that everyone goes through,more than just a seasonal depression or a situational depression.The results of these devastating symptoms can lead to broken relationships,the inability to perform well on the job or in school, and eventually suicide.It can also be difficult for doctors to diagnose because it can be very similar to schizophrenia and major depression.It is classified as two types,Bipolar disorder1,also known as classic bipolar disorder,and Bipolar 2 Bipolar 1 is characterized by episodes of mania along with episodes of depression.A manic state can be considered as periods of euphoria,where the judgment is severely impaired and hyperactivity runs rampant with staying up all night accompanied by fast speech and movements.Most episodes of mania also include delusion and grandiose thoughts which can easily be confused with schizophrenia,and these manic episodes can go on for weeks or months if untreated,perhaps what Hendrix meant by manic depression capturing his soul.Bipolar 2 is characterized by episodes of milder depression along with a milder form of mania called hypomania.It is still considered mania,however hypomania does not include episodes of delusion and psychotic symptoms that may be dangerous to themselves or others.Although bipolar 2 is diagnosed less than bipolar 1,some experts question characterizing it as a milder version of the disorder.These episodes of mania and depression usually occur across the lifespan.When four or more of these episodes happen in a twelve month period, this is called“rapid cycling”bipolar disorder.Some will experience multiple episodes within a single week,and some may even experience them all in a single day,however rapid cycling usually develops later in the course of the illness and rapid cycling is more common in woman than in men.The explanation of the two types of disorders pulls together the common thread, manic depression.According to Kay Redfield Jamison,PH.D,“Manic-depression distorts moods and thoughts,incites dreadful behaviors,destroys the basis of rational thought,and too often erodes the desire and will to live.It is an illness that is biological in its origins,yet one that feels psychological in the experience of it,an illness that is unique in conferring advantage and pleasure,yet one that brings in its wake almost unendurable suffering and,not infrequently suicide.""I am fortunate that I have not died from my illness,fortunate in having received the best medical care available,and fortunate in having the friends,colleagues,and family that I do.”Another common thread is what used to be referred to as dual diagnosis.The coexistence of mental illness and substance abuse.Now it is called co-occurring,and bipolar disorder and alcoholism co-occur at a higher rate than what most researchers had originally thought.There have been many explanations for the relations between these two conditions however,it is still poorly understood.Some of the evidence found may suggest a genetic link.Alcohol abuse is defined as a pattern of drinking that results in the failure to fulfill responsibilities at work,school or home.Mania,like chemical dependency is a good example of out-of-control behavior,and the two together are an explosive combination.Alcohol use may worsen the clinical course of bipolar disorder,making it more difficult to be treated.Even though science has made some strides in recognizing and treating bipolar disorder,there still is a long way to go in the research as to the causes.The brain disorder seems to be intertwined in the similarities and symptoms of other types of mental Illness.Although there are numerous medications that can be prescribed to help keep individual’s lives more manageable,the most common ground for treatment may be to continue to adopt a better understanding and acceptance that mental illness is very common and it can devastate hopes and dreams as well as families and eventually take lives.

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Posted By: jimmy james - Category: Bipolar Depression, Symptoms of Depression, Chronic Depression, Clinical Depression

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Comments

1 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Dianna G

June 14th 2008 04:27

I Wish This Was 42
Fictional Worlds

...FINALLY.

Somebody talks about us Bipolar freaks.

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