What was bipolar called

While all children experience mood changes, changes caused by bipolar disorder are very pronounced. Some of the behavior issues you may witness in your child could be the result of another condition. ADHD and other behavior disorders can occur in children with bipolar disorder. Read more about bipolar disorder in children. Angst-filled behavior is nothing new to the average parent of a teenager. The shifts in hormones, plus the life changes that come with puberty , can make even the most well-behaved teen seem a little upset or overly emotional from time to time.

However, some teenage changes in mood may be the result of a more serious condition, such as bipolar disorder. A bipolar disorder diagnosis is most common during the late teens and early adult years.

For teenagers, the more common symptoms of a manic episode include:. For teenagers, the more common symptoms of a depressive episode include:. Diagnosing and treating bipolar disorder can help teens live a healthy life. Learn more about bipolar disorder in teenagers and how to treat it. Bipolar disorder can have two extremes: up and down.

To be diagnosed with bipolar, you must experience a period of mania or hypomania. Your brain structure may impact your risk for the disease. Abnormalities in the structure or functions of your brain may increase your risk. Outside factors may contribute, too. These factors can include:. Each of these factors may influence who develops bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder can be passed from parent to child. Research has identified a strong genetic link in people with the disorder.

If you have a relative with the disorder, your chances of also developing it are four to six times higher than people without a family history of the condition.

In addition, not everyone with bipolar disorder has a family history of the disease. Still, genetics seem to play a considerable role in the incidence of bipolar disorder. If you have a family member with bipolar disorder, find out whether screening might be a good idea for you.

A diagnosis of bipolar disorder I involves either one or more manic episodes, or mixed manic and depressive episodes. It may also include a major depressive episode, but it may not. A diagnosis of bipolar II involves one or more major depressive episodes and at least one episode of hypomania. To be diagnosed with a manic episode, you must experience symptoms that last for at least one week or that cause you to be hospitalized.

You must experience symptoms almost all day every day during this time. Major depressive episodes, on the other hand, must last for at least two weeks. Bipolar disorder can be difficult to diagnose because mood swings can vary. This age group often has greater changes in mood, behavior, and energy levels. Episodes may happen more often or become more extreme. Therefore, diagnosis is very important. See how bipolar disorder is diagnosed. Instead, your doctor will use several tests and exams.

These may include:. Your doctor may use other tools and tests to diagnose bipolar disorder in addition to these. Read about other tests that can help confirm a bipolar disorder diagnosis. Several treatments are available that can help you manage your bipolar disorder. These include medications, counseling, and lifestyle changes. Some natural remedies may also be helpful.

In the last few decades, the medical profession, and psychiatry specifically, has made a concerted effort to shift the vernacular to the official DSM diagnostic term of bipolar disorder. There are a number of reasons cited for this shift, including:.

There are three types of bipolar disorder recognized in DSM Dealing with racing thoughts? Always feeling tired? Our guide offers strategies to help you or your loved one live better with bipolar disorder. Sign up for our newsletter and get it free. Historical underpinnings of bipolar disorder diagnostic criteria. Behav Sci Basel. Emil Kraepelin: A pioneer of scientific understanding of psychiatry and psychopharmacology.

Indian J Psychiatry. American Psychiatric Association. What are bipolar disorders? Martin E. The common antipsychotics used for the treatment of bipolar disorder are:. Sodium valproate is an anticonvulsive medication. Your doctor will suggest different dosages and combinations to you depending on what works best for you. Your personal preferences should be listened to.

Depression Your doctor should offer you medication to treat depressive symptoms. You may be offered the following medication:. If you would like to take medication, doctors will use different dosages and combinations depending on what works best for you.

If you have an episode of depression you should be offered medication and a high intensity talking therapy, such as:. What is cognitive behavioural therapy CBT? CBT is a talking therapy that can help you manage your problems by changing the way you think and behave. What is interpersonal therapy? Interpersonal therapy is a talking therapy that focuses on you and your relationships with other people.

Bipolar disorder is a life-long and often recurring illness. You may need long term support to help manage your condition. Your doctor will look at what medication worked for you during episodes of mania or depression. They should ask you whether you want to continue this treatment or if you want to change to lithium.

Lithium usually works better than other types of medication for long-term treatment. Your doctor should give you information about how to take lithium safely. If lithium doesn't work well enough or causes you problems, you may be offered:. Your doctor should monitor your health. Physical health checks should be done at least once a year.

These checks will include:. You should be offered a psychological therapy that is specially designed for bipolar disorder. You could have individual or group therapy. The aim of your therapy is to stop you from becoming unwell again.

Family intervention is where you and your family work with mental health professionals to help to manage relationships. This should be offered to people who you live with or who you are in close contact with. The support that you and your family are given will depend on what problems there are and what preferences you all have. This could be group family sessions or individual sessions. Your family should get support for 3 months to 1 year and should have at least 10 planned sessions.

If you want to return to work, you should be offered support with that including training. You should get this support if your care is managed by your GP or by your community mental health team.

You might not be able to work or to find any. Your healthcare professionals should think about other activities that could help you back to employment in the future. Your healthcare team should help you to make a recovery plan. The plan should help you to identify early warning signs and triggers that may make you unwell again and ways of coping.

Your plan should also have people to call if you become very distressed. CPA is a package of care that is used by secondary mental health services. You will have a care plan and someone to coordinate your care.

All care plans should include a crisis plan. CPA should be available if you have a wide range of needs from different services or you are thought to be a high risk. Both you and your GP should be given a copy of your care plan. Your carers can be involved in your care plan and given a copy if you give your consent for this to happen.

You can speak to your doctor about your treatment. You could ask what other treatments you could try. Tell your doctor if there is a type of treatment that you would like to try. Doctors should listen to your preference. A second opinion means that you would like a different doctor to give their opinion about what treatment you should have. You can also ask for a second opinion if you disagree with your diagnosis. But your doctor should listen to your reason for wanting a second opinion.

An advocate is independent from the mental health service. They are free to use. They can be useful if you find it difficult to get your views heard. There are different types of advocates available. Community advocates can support you to get a health professional to listen to your concerns. And help you to get the treatment that you would like. You can complain about your treatment or any other aspect of the NHS verbally or in writing.

You can learn to manage your symptoms by looking after yourself. Selfcare is how you take care of your diet, sleep, exercise, daily routine, relationships and how you are feeling. Routine helps many people with their mental wellbeing. It will help to give a structure to your day and may give you a sense of purpose. This could be a simple routine such as eating at the same time each day, going to bed at the same time each day and buying food once per week.

Your healthcare professionals should offer you a combined healthy eating, exercise and sleep programme. You can find more information about wellbeing any physical health at: www. You could join a support group. A support group is where people come together to share information, experiences and give each other support. You might be able to find a local group by searching online. The charity Bipolar UK have an online support group. They also have face to face support groups in some areas of the country.

Their contact details are in the Useful contacts at the bottom of this page. Rethink Mental Illness have support groups in some areas. You can find out what is available in your area if you follow this link: www. Or you can contact our General Enquiries team on or info rethink. Recovery colleges are part of the NHS. They offer free courses about mental health to help you manage your symptoms.

They can help you to take control of your life and become an expert in your own wellbeing and recovery. You can usually self-refer to a recovery college.

But the college may inform your care team. Some people may need to try several different medications and work with their health care provider before finding medications that work best.

Treatment plans may also include medications that target sleep or anxiety. Health care providers often prescribe antidepressant medication to treat depressive episodes in bipolar disorder, combining the antidepressant with a mood stabilizer to prevent triggering a manic episode.

Avoid stopping a medication without talking to a health care provider first. For the most up-to-date information on medications, side effects, and warnings, visit the U. Psychotherapy is a term for a variety of treatment techniques that aim to help a person identify and change troubling emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.

It can provide support, education, and guidance to people with bipolar disorder and their families. Treatment may include therapies such as cognitive-behavioral therapy CBT and psychoeducation, which are used to treat a variety of conditions. Treatment may also include newer therapies designed specifically for the treatment of bipolar disorder, including interpersonal and social rhythm therapy IPSRT and family-focused therapy. Determining whether intensive psychotherapeutic intervention at the earliest stages of bipolar disorder can prevent or limit its full-blown onset is an important area of ongoing research.

Electroconvulsive Therapy ECT : ECT is a brain stimulation procedure that can help people get relief from severe symptoms of bipolar disorder. With modern ECT, a person usually goes through a series of treatment sessions over several weeks. ECT is delivered under general anesthesia and is safe. It can be effective in treating severe depressive and manic episodes, which occur most often when medication and psychotherapy are not effective or are not safe for a particular patient.

ECT can also be effective when a rapid response is needed, as in the case of suicide risk or catatonia a state of unresponsiveness. It is delivered to an awake patient most days for 1 month. Research shows that TMS is helpful for many people with various subtypes of depression, but its role in the treatment of bipolar disorder is still under study. Supplements: Although there are reports that some supplements and herbs may help, not enough research has been conducted to fully understand how these supplements may affect people with bipolar disorder.

It is important for a health care provider to know about all prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, and supplements a patient is taking.

Certain medications and supplements taken together may cause unwanted or dangerous effects. Regular Exercise: Regular aerobic exercise, such as jogging, brisk walking, swimming, or bicycling, helps with depression and anxiety, promotes better sleep, and is healthy for your heart and brain. There is also some evidence that anaerobic exercise such as weightlifting, yoga, and Pilates can be helpful.

Check with your health care provider before you start a new exercise regimen. Keeping a Life Chart: Even with proper treatment, mood changes can occur. Treatment is more effective when a patient and health care provider work together and talk openly about concerns and choices.

Keeping a life chart that records daily mood symptoms, treatments, sleep patterns, and life events can help patients and health care providers track and treat bipolar disorder over time. Patients can easily share data collected via smartphone apps — including self-reports, self- ratings, and activity data — with their health care providers and therapists. The service is available to everyone. All calls are confidential.

Living with bipolar disorder can be challenging, but there are ways to help make it easier for yourself, a friend, or a loved one.

Remember : Bipolar disorder is a lifelong illness, but long-term, ongoing treatment can help control symptoms and enable you to live a healthy life. Clinical trials are research studies that look at new ways to prevent, detect, or treat diseases and conditions.

The goal of clinical trials is to determine if a new test or treatment works and is safe. Although individuals may benefit from being part of a clinical trial, participants should be aware that the primary purpose of a clinical trial is to gain new scientific knowledge so that others may be better helped in the future.

Researchers at NIMH and around the country conduct many studies with patients and healthy volunteers. We have new and better treatment options today because of what clinical trials uncovered years ago. Talk to your health care provider about clinical trials, their benefits and risks, and whether one is right for you.

Unless otherwise specified, NIMH information and publications are in the public domain and available for use free of charge. Citation of the NIMH is appreciated.

Statistics NIMH statistics pages include statistics on the prevalence, treatment, and costs of mental illness for the population of the United States. Help for Mental Illnesses If you or someone you know has a mental illness, there are ways to get help.