Bipolar disorder is a lifelong mental condition. There is no cure, but it can be controlled with medications, psychotherapy, and other forms of treatment. Even so, there are potential long-term effects.
Bipolar disorder
is a serious mental illness that causes unusual changes in mood, ranging from extreme highs (mania) to lows (depression).Remember that bipolar disorder is a lifelong illness, but long-term ongoing treatment can help control symptoms and allow you to lead a healthy life. Bipolar disorder is a lifelong illness. Episodes of mania and depression usually come back over time. Between episodes, many people with bipolar disorder have no mood changes, but some people may have persistent symptoms.
Long-term ongoing treatment can help people control these symptoms. Bipolar disorder is a lifelong mental health condition, but symptoms can be controlled and often relieved. Living with bipolar disorder can be challenging, but there are ways to help make things easier for you, a friend, or a loved one. When people with bipolar disorder experience four or more manic or depressive episodes in a year, this is called a “rapid cycle.” Although bipolar disorder can occur at any age, it is usually diagnosed in the teens or early 20s.
Knowing the nature of these brain changes helps doctors better understand bipolar disorder and, in the future, can help predict what types of treatment will work best for a person with bipolar disorder. Antidepressants are never used as the only medication to treat bipolar disorder because only taking an antidepressant medication can cause a manic episode. Keeping a careful medical history is essential to ensure that bipolar disorder is not confused with major depression. For example, some people with bipolar disorder who also have psychotic symptoms may be misdiagnosed with schizophrenia.
People with bipolar disorder who have psychotic symptoms may be misdiagnosed as having schizophrenia. Learning more about the function of genes in bipolar disorder may help researchers develop new treatments. For example, the antidepressants prescribed by healthcare providers to treat obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and the stimulants they prescribe to treat ADHD can worsen symptoms of bipolar disorder and even cause a manic episode. Psychotherapy can offer support, education, skills, and strategies to people with bipolar disorder and their families.
Psychotherapy, also called “talk therapy,” can be an effective part of the treatment plan for people with bipolar disorder. Some studies of identical twins have found that even when one twin develops bipolar disorder, the other may not.
