Bipolar Symptoms

Posts Tagged ‘mental’

Helping a Loved One with Bipolar Disorder

Dealing with the ups and downs of Bipolar Disorder can be difficult—and not just for the person with the illness. The moods and behaviors of a person with bipolar disorder affect everyone around—especially family members and close friends. During a manic episode, they must cope with reckless antics, outrageous demands, explosive outbursts, and irresponsible decisions. And once the whirlwind of mania has passed, it often falls on them to deal with the consequences. During episodes of depression, they may have to pick up the slack for a loved one who doesn’t have the energy to meet responsibilities at home or work.

People with bipolar disorder do better when they have support from family members and friends. Those whose loved ones are involved and supportive tend to recover more quickly, experience fewer manic and depressive episodes, and have milder symptoms.

If someone close to you has bipolar disorder, your love and support can make a difference in treatment and recovery. You can help by learning about the illness, offering hope and encouragement, keeping track of symptoms, and being a partner in treatment. But caring for a person with bipolar disorder will take a toll if you neglect your own needs, so it’s important to find a balance between supporting your loved one and taking care of yourself.

In addition to traditional medical treatment by qualified medical professionals (which has no substitutes), we also tried some other "natural" ways of managing ups and downs of Bipolar Disorder Symptoms. Book Conquer Stress, Depression & Anxiety was really helpful in maintaining "normal" mood levels.

Probably the best solution to stop anxiety, panic attacks and phobias is Linden Method. We strongly recommend you to try it. It’s a comprehensive and natural method to deal with many symptoms that accompany Bipolar Disorder.

The good news is that most people with bipolar disorder can stabilize their moods with proper treatment, medication, and support—so if your friend or family member has bipolar disorder, take hope. Furthermore, you can play a significant
role in his or her recovery.

Here are some ways you can help a person with bipolar disorder:

• Learn about bipolar disorder. Educate yourself about bipolar disorder. Learn everything you can about the symptoms and treatment options. The more you know about bipolar disorder, the better equipped you’ll be to help your loved one and keep things in perspective.
• Encourage the person to get help. The sooner bipolar disorder is treated, the better the prognosis, so urge your friend or family member to seek professional help right away. Don’t wait to see if the person will get better without treatment.
• Be understanding. Let your friend or family member know that you’re there if he or she needs a sympathetic ear, encouragement, or assistance with treatment. Remind the person that you care and that you’ll do
  whatever you can to help.
• Be patient. Getting better takes time, even when a person is committed to treatment. Don’t expect a quick recovery or a permanent cure. Be patient with the pace of recovery and prepare for setbacks and challenges.
  Managing bipolar disorder is a lifelong process.

I wish you and loved ones health, happiness and success in overcoming Bipolar Symptoms. Please scroll down to next posts to read more….

Natalie K.

Technorati Tags: bipo, bipolar, Bipolar Disorder, Bipolar Spouse, Bipolar Symptoms, bipolar treatment, depression, disorder, health, mania, MANIC, mental, symptoms, therapy, treatments

Mania, depression, recklessness and listlessness are the extremes associated with Bipolar Disorder, a mental illness characterized by mood instability that can be serious and disabling. Bipolar disorder is also known as manic-depression or manic-depressive illness. Learn about bipolar disorder including possible causes, symptoms, and treatment in this video.

Duration : 0:2:55

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please read below for more details.
bipolar II – NIMH government agency
NAMI.org for support & family education

nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/bipolar-disorder/complete-publication.shtml

Mania: (this is NOT the same thing as feeling good.)
Signs and symptoms of mania (or a manic episode) include:

* Increased energy, activity, and restlessness

* Excessively “high,” overly good, euphoric mood

* Extreme irritability

* Racing thoughts and talking very fast, jumping from one idea to another

* Distractibility, can’t concentrate well

* Little sleep needed

* Unrealistic beliefs in one’s abilities and powers

* Poor judgment

* Spending sprees (shopaholic behavior)

* A lasting period of behavior that is different from usual

* Increased sexual drive (greater than normal increase)

* Abuse of drugs, particularly cocaine, alcohol, and sleeping medications

* Provocative, intrusive, or aggressive behavior

* Denial that anything is wrong

A manic episode is diagnosed if elevated mood occurs with three or more of the other symptoms most of the day, nearly every day, for 1 week or longer. If the mood is irritable, four additional symptoms must be present.

Signs and symptoms of depression (or a depressive episode) include:

* Lasting sad, anxious, or empty mood

* Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism

* Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness

* Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed, including sex

* Decreased energy, a feeling of fatigue or of being “slowed down”

* Difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions

* Restlessness or irritability

* Sleeping too much, or can’t sleep

* Change in appetite and/or unintended weight loss or gain

* Chronic pain or other persistent bodily symptoms that are not caused by physical illness or injury

* Thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide attempts

A depressive episode is diagnosed if five or more of these symptoms last most of the day, nearly every day, for a period of 2 weeks or longer.

A mild to moderate level of mania is called hypomania. Hypomania may feel good to the person who experiences it and may even be associated with good functioning and enhanced productivity. Thus even when family and friends learn to recognize the mood swings as possible Bipolar Disorder, the person may deny that anything is wrong.

Without proper treatment, however, hypomania can become severe mania in some people or can switch into depression.

Signs and symptoms that may accompany suicidal feelings include:

* talking about feeling suicidal or wanting to die

* feeling hopeless, that nothing will ever change or get better

* feeling helpless, that nothing one does makes any difference

* feeling like a burden to family and friends

* abusing alcohol or drugs

* putting affairs in order (e.g., organizing finances or giving away possessions to prepare for one’s death)

* writing a suicide note

* putting oneself in harm’s way, or in situations where there is a danger of being killed (AKA passive suicide – making no attempt to jump out of the way when a bus or train may run them over)

rapid cycling:

When four or more episodes of illness occur within a 12-month period, a person is said to have rapid-cycling bipolar disorder. Some people experience multiple episodes within a single week, or even within a single day. Rapid cycling tends to develop later in the course of illness and is more common among women than among men.

rapid cycling is very difficult for me to deal with. i swing back and forth between mania and depression at such a fast rate that it can be difficult to be in control and alarming.

music: Andrea Boccelli Cieli Di Toscana

Duration : 0:3:14

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Technorati Tags: 5150, bipolar, BREAKDOWN, depression, depressive, hospital, illness, manicdepressive, mental, psychiatrist, suicidal, suicide

This video is a compilation of other videos that were all posted (to my old YouTube account: Here2DayGone2Morro) at one time or another. They were all recorded before May 11th 2008, the day I was hospitalized at a Behavioral Health institution for 1 week.

Bipolar Disorder (I and II) is NOT a joke or an imaginary disorder!

I hope that my videos will help others in the world who suffer from BPD. I want them to know that they are not alone. I want them to know that it’s okay…..I want them to know that we are normal….I want them to know that there is help out there for us. The longer we wait to get help, the harder it gets. As the disorder gets worse, it gets harder to seek the help that we need.

I was tired of losing family members and friends because of my behavior and couldn’t deal with it anymore…..so I chose to seek help.

Yes, it is VERY hard to admit having a mental disorder but you can’t run from it.

For more information –

http://www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/bipolar-2-disorder

http://www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/default.htm

Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Duration : 0:9:13

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Technorati Tags: Biplolar, depression, disorder, health, II, Lamictal, MANIC, mental

The history of bipolar disease, or bipolar disorder, began in the 2nd century AD, but was not thoroughly studied until contemporary psychotherapy developed in the 1850s. Find out how medication began being used for treatment of bipolar disorder in the 1950s with information from a licensed mental health counselor in this free video on Bipolar Disorder.

Expert: David Thomas
Contact: www.WTGTampa.com
Bio: Dr. David Thomas has been certified as a licensed mental health counselor in the state of Florida since 1986 and the National Board of Certified Counselors since 1987.
Filmmaker: Christopher Rokosz

Duration : 0:2:7

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Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder that has symptoms of mania and depression. Discover some symptoms of Bipolar Disorder, including rapid speech, restlessness and depression, with advice from a mental health counselor in this free video on therapy and counseling.

Expert: Virginia Intelisano
Bio: Virginia Intelisano is a master’s level mental health counselor who works for Personal Enrichment Through Mental Health Services.
Filmmaker: Christopher Rokosz

Duration : 0:1:8

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Professor John Geddes talks about the diagnosis and symptoms of Bipolar Disorder and the different treatments that may be offered.

Duration : 0:4:7

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Technorati Tags: bipolar, choices, disorder, health, mental, NHS

Bipolar Disorder, which was once called manic depression, is often misunderstood and frequently misrepresented in the popular media. In this video, Dr. Erdelyi explains what Bipolar disorder really is.

Watch More Health Videos at Health Guru: http://www.healthguru.com/?YT

Duration : 0:2:57

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Bipolar disease, or disorder, is commonly linked to genetic factors, though relatives are not often diagnosed, they may have displayed common bipolar symptoms. Get more information on Bipolar Disorder causes from a licensed mental health counselor in this free video on bipolar disorder.

Expert: David Thomas
Contact: www.WTGTampa.com
Bio: Dr. David Thomas has been certified as a licensed mental health counselor in the state of Florida since 1986 and the National Board of Certified Counselors since 1987.
Filmmaker: Christopher Rokosz

Duration : 0:1:41

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Technorati Tags: bipolar, depression, disease, disorder, health, mania, MANIC, mental, symptoms, treatments

Hey Guys, In this video, Dr. Joe Bresee, with CDC’s Influenza Division, describes the symptoms of swne flu and wrning signs to look for that indicte the n…

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Technorati Tags: bipolar, depression, disease, disorder, health, mania, MANIC, mental, symptoms, treatments