Bipolar Disorder usually appears during the late teens or early twenties. However, in some people it appears earlier – we are seeing more and more children diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In some individuals the disorder does not appear until later in life.
Bipolar Disorder is marked by alternating periods of mania and depression. The mania may last for hours, days or possibly weeks, during which time the patient requires little sleep, may have heightened creativity and grandiose ideas such as starting a new business venture, buying cars or houses or going on other spending sprees. The depression may last for days or weeks and include changes in appetite and sleeping, loss of interest in activities once enjoyed by a person, feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness and even thoughts of suicide. I knew of one man who would keep his wife up for nights on end listening to his guitar compositions. But what goes up must come down and these “highs” result in an eventual crash – this same man was found a few days later lying unclothed in a ditch by a trucker, passed out with no idea who he was or where he lived. I know another young woman who will get hired as a saleswoman, sometimes surpass all their sales records only to be fired within a month when she crashes and cannot get out of bed to go to work because of her depression and apathy. One employer told her they would give her work whenever she wanted it regardless of her condition – her sales personality was so good when she was manic. It took both these people years to be diagnosed properly – both were diagnosed and treated for depression for years before finally being properly diagnosed with bipolar disorder during an extreme manic phase that required hospitalization due to their irrational behavior. Even after their diagnosis, both these people struggled with staying on their medication, resulting in additional episodes and hospitalizations.
Most people with bipolar disorder don’t get to that extreme. We fall somewhere in between. And we fall through the cracks. Our loved ones walk around on eggshells because we are hard to live with and hard to love. We are like living with a time bomb. You never know when we are going to go off, what is going to set us off…and it isn’t usually something big – it is something small. But during the periods when things are on an even keel we are some of the most engaging, brightest people and often the life of the party – people that a casual acquaintance could never imagine being depressed. Sometimes those of us afflicted with this disorder know that something isn’t right and that we are different and sometimes we don’t.
Some people with bipolar disorder think everything bad that happens to them is someone else’s fault. Those are the people that are harder to get into treatment.
Many times the bipolar person suffers from a mixed state – which is harder to define. Sometimes the behavior will present as more of a rage than a depression or a euphoria. The person will be fine one minute and in the blink of an eye the mood will change. Some people with bipolar disorder suffer from what is called “rapid cycling” which means a person has had four or more distinct episodes of depression and mania within a year. But for many these episodes occur within a matter of weeks, days and even hours.
We now know that when a person is bipolar, treatment with an antidepressant alone only worsens the condition over time and can actually cause a person who didn’t “rapid cycle” previously to begin rapid cycling. This happened to me. That is why proper diagnosis is so important. When a person is bipolar, a mood stabilizer is generally required to achieve stability. An antidepressant is often used with the mood stabilizer. Anticonvulsants are being used regularly as mood stabilizers with great success. And the antidepressants being used today have come a long way.
If you think you or a loved one might be suffering from bipolar disorder it is important to seek a diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible. It can be difficult to take the first step but it is best to be honest with yourself or be honest with the loved one for whom you are concerned. It is a huge relief to have a name and an actual illness for your suffering. It is an even bigger relief to know that there is help for this condition and that it is completely manageable. You just have to be willing to take that first step.
For me, the diagnosis was a shock. I went in for testing for Adult ADD – which I also have. I came out with a diagnosis of Adult ADD and Bipolar II. However, the diagnosis explained all the episodes of bizarre behavior, all the depression and years of misery and gave me a turning point and a start for my recovery. I was ready to be stable and I have achieved that stability through minimal counseling and a good medication regimen. I wish that someone had approached me 10 years prior to my diagnosis when I was really uncontrollable and said “You need help.” I would have actually listened, I believe. I was ready for help 10 years prior to my diagnosis. I just didn’t know what was wrong, or even that bipolar disorder existed. I thought I was just temperamental and depressed.
If you recognize yourself or a loved one or coworker in what you have read, I urge you to do some research…visit the NAMI website and other reputable websites, your local mental health advocates, arm yourself with the facts and then seek the help you need. You’ll be glad you did.
Note: The author of this article is not a licensed medical professional and is only relating her own experiences and observations. All advice should be weighed against the reader’s own personal circumstances and readers should seek the advice of a licensed medical professional for any diagnosis and treatment. The author assumes no responsibility for the actions of the reader.
Sarah Gail Thompson is the author of “I Have Bipolar Disorder…But It Doesn’t Have Me” and “Left of Center”, ebooks that recount her experiences of living with a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder.
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