Everyone experiences various trials and stresses that may prove to be too overwhelming at times. When the world seems to loom over you, there can be times that make you want to give up. Some people conquer these problems but others fail to do so.

When problems get the best of them, they develop mental conditions overtime. One of the most common is bipolar depression which is described as a mood disorder that has at least a single manic disorder. This is considered as a chronic one because of the fact that additional manic episodes occur as years go by. About four manic episodes happen every ten years if treatment to prevent it is not done. Different people have different patterns of depression and mania. But as the condition progresses, the pattern is identified as predictable already. Here are some facts about bipolar depression that you may be interested in discussing with your doctor:

 

1. When it starts

Bipolar depression is usually prevalent during adolescence or perhaps early adulthood and then continues to go one for the rest of the person’s life. It is known to be hereditary. It occurs in episodes, which make it difficult for patients and people around them to know that they do have bipolar depression.  This is why treatment is not provided. Most patients who have bipolar depression find themselves feeling good during their manic episodes. They don’t comply with treatments because they feel good. The risks being taken by the patient during manic episodes make it difficult for the patient to keep jobs and relationships. They usually resort to alcohol and drug dependency.

 

 

2. Manic episodes

When a patient has bipolar depression, manic episodes transpire. In this episode, the mood is elevated at an abnormal level and lasts for about an entire week. When this happens, behavior gets disturbed, thinking results to various problems in adjustments to life itself. This is commonly mistaken for ADHD. There are different levels of mood states in mania. There’s severe depression, moderate depression, “the blues”, normal mood, hypomania, and then mania. Mania, in some cases, may turn out to be the main problem. If the frequency of mania and depression happen not so frequently, then the condition may be called mixed n]bipolar state.

 

 

3. Mood state: Depression

In the state of depression, you don’t believe that everything could ever be right. Here, you feel useless, burned out, and hopeless. You may not get out the house or have a good time with your family and friends. Being depressed makes you sad and angry persistently, your memory fails you, you think of killing yourself, loss or increase in appetite, inadequate sleep, restlessness, irritability, feelings of guilt and worthlessness, hopelessness, loss of pleasure, and decreased energy.

 

 

 

4. Mood state: Hypomania

This mood state of bipolar depression, you start to have over elevated feeling or invincibility, omnipotence, happiness, and well-being. This makes you become uninhibited in sexual activities and the desire to be seduced and to seduce really overwhelms you. Being shy is not in your list anymore and everyone becomes interesting all of a sudden.

 

 

 

5. Mood state: Mania

In mania, you become too overwhelmed by confusion instead of clarity. You ideas run too fast already and your memory fails you. Because of how you behave, your friends and family become too afraid of you. Eventually, you become trapped, angry, irritable, and scared. This mood state makes you extremely irritable, distracted, euphoric, take risks frequently, and sleep less, very happy. It also disables your ability to judge well, overly confident, makes you increase your libido, makes you obnoxious, makes you resort to alcoholism and drug abuse, and makes you deny the problem at hand.

 

 

In preventing bipolar depression, friends and family should know how to distinguish the obvious change in moods. These should be readily brought to attention so that proper treatment may already be given.  The treatment of bipolar depression targets the adjustment problems when manic episodes occur. Continuous counseling with support is needed to manage the patient’s life effectively. Family and friends are needed as the support group for the patient to help in encouragements to take the medical treatment and to monitor the symptoms as well. Even if the patient is against it, commitment in a healthcare institution is the best way to make sure that the patient gets the medical treatments and counseling on a regular basis. Prophylactic treatment is highly recommended because bipolar depression is a very recurring condition. So make sure to work with your doctor, friends, and family to keep you on the safe and sure side of the treatment.