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Understanding Bipolar Disorder from Clients Perspective. Reck Age 20

Written by John Victor | Reviewed By John Victor | Updated On September 30, 2022

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We would start with a case study to understand our topic, "BIPOLAR DISORDER," In-depth.
 

–Reck, age 20 Less than a year ago, Reck had his first major manic episode while away at college. After using some recreational drugs with his friends, he felt a sudden change come over him that persisted even after the drugs' effects wore off. "The next day, I thought that I was enlightened and knew the meaning of life like I was a Buddha or Gandhi," he recalls. "I felt invincible, like I was on top of the world and could do anything. I even thought I had psychic powers, like ESP. I didn't sleep because I felt like it was a waste of time. I stayed up all night writing poetry. I talked nonstop, even though I'm usually quiet. I spent a thousand dollars on CDs, clothes, and food for my friends." When Reck came home, his mother, Nancy, realized that Reck was manic because her daughter also had bipolar disorder. She immediately got him to the hospital.

The mood disorder discussed here is Bipolar disorder, also known as a manic disorder. This treatable mental illness involves extreme mood changes, thoughts, energy, and behavior with realistic feelings of excitement Euphoria.

Another is depression, which is like any other 100%treatable illness. With the help of a psychologist with the proper treatment, symptoms can be managed and do not interfere with your life. In all this, HOPE and OPTIMISM are the most significant factors in overcoming any illness. With these, you can defy the biggest of the disease and problems.

A person with Bipolar disorder has a mood that usually alternates between mania or a significantly" up the mood" and depression, or a significantly "down" mood. These changes or mood swings can last for hours, days, weeks, or even months.

In the manic episode :
It's a distinct period of elevated, enthusiastic, or irritable mood with increased physical and mental activity and energy, decreased need for sleeping without feeling tired, racing thoughts, poor judgment, reckless behavior, delusions, and hallucinations.

In the hypomanic episode:
It is similar to a manic episode, except that it is less severe and has no delusions or hallucinations. It is different from a non-depressed (euthymic) mood with a noticeable change in unusual or out-of-character behavior.

Difference​ between bipolar  and ordinary mood swings :

•Intensity: Mood swings that come with Bipolar disorder are usually more severe than ordinary mood swings.
•Length:  A bad mood is usually gone in a few days, but mania or depression can last weeks or months. With the rapid cycling type of Bipolar disorder, moods last a short time but change quickly from one extreme to another.

•Interference with life: The extreme mood that comes with Bipolar disorder can cause serious problems.
E.g., depression can make a person go lazy and away from all the work or mains can cause a person to go to work for days without sleep.

Treatment

•Diet is the foundation of physical health. It may also play a much more significant role in mental health than we ever realized. The Bipolar Diet helps to both balance moods and fight medication-related weight gain.
– Avoid /minimize alcohol, caffeine, and sugar.
-Omega-3 (fish oil) and folic acid are said to be best for Bipolar disorder.•Medications: Mood swings characterize bipolar disorder. Therefore, the best bipolar disorder medications are mood stabilizers. Mood stabilizers are bipolar drugs that regulate mood swings so that extremes of depression and mania no longer occur.

•Exercise and sleep: In this mediation and keeping track of your sleep could help.
There is interpersonal and social rhythm therapy (ISRT), which is a Psychosocial therapy for Bipolar disorder people that includes a lot of emphasis on regulating the individual's sleep-wake cycle and daily routine because they have susceptible circadian systems, which makes it much more difficult for them to recover if their sleep or other aspects of their daily routine are disrupted.

•Maintaining mood charts :
1. Date-there should be space for recording data for each day.

2. Mood scale: the scale would typically include a baseline, which indicates feeling normal (no depression or mania) and then
a range of points above the baseline for elevated mood and below the baseline for depressed mood. A scale of -3 to +3 is standard, but some charts have scales of -5 to +5 or even -10 to +10. I like to use -3 to +3.3.

3. How much sleep the person got.

4. What medication was taken and the dosage.

5. Notes: this can be a record of life events considered relevant, such as stressors, therapy sessions, family gatherings, or notes about the workplace. Some people also track their weight.

•Various therapies: such as

1) CBT

2) interpersonal and social rhythm therapy

3) Functional training.

4) Psychotherapy

5) Psycho-education,

6) Family-focused treatment (FFT),

7) Bipolar counseling,

8) Positive psychology,

9) Narrative therapy,

10) Mindfulness-based cognitive  therapy/Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).,

11) Functional training

With this, I hope you can find solutions to how to detect Bipolar disorder and the treatments for it.

Is there a possibility that I have bipolar and not BPD? Are they similar?
Very Beautiful | April 9, 2021, 11:55 pm
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Please enlighten me on the following things- " i felt like gandhi or buddha" does this feeling of knowing the meaning of life and feeling high at night and writing poetry with lots of energy and thinking sleeping at night is useless and i should my time efficiently also happens in BPD??? Is sleep wake cycle also affected in BPD? Can Isrt used universally for sleep issues in other disorders??
Very Beautiful | April 9, 2021, 11:44 pm
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About the author

I have done M.Phil in Clinical Psychology, worked at VIMHANS till 2012. Since then started working at my own clinic in New Delhi. I also worked as an Asst Professor at Amity for some time, but my passion for working with clients brought me back to my clinical work. I have worked with hundreds of people, assisting them to achieve their goals.

I have also started this portal, Mind Solace, to bridge help seekers and help providers. As time goes, I have realized that there are so many amazing people out there who help others by sharing, writing, and interacting in meaningful conversations. Thus "My Mental Health Support" started.

Request you to join, engage, and support people around.

John Victor

Clinical Psychologist

CEO, Mind Solace.

 

You can also visit my personal website, www.johnvictor.com