The phenomenon of bipolar affective disorder has been a mystery since the 16th century.
History has shown that this affliction can appear in almost anyone. Even the great painter
Vincent Van Gogh is believed to have had bipolar disorder. It is clear that in our society many people live with bipolar disorder; however, despite the abundance of people suffering from the it, we are still waiting for definite explanations for the causes and cure.
The one fact of which we are painfully aware is that bipolar disorder severely undermines its’ victims ability to obtain and maintain social and occupational success. Because bipolar disorder has such debilitating symptoms, it is imperative that we remain vigilant in the quest for explanations of its causes and treatment.
Affective disorders are characterized by a smorgasbord of symptoms that can be broken into manic and depressive episodes. The depressive episodes are characterized by intense feelings of sadness and despair that can become feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. Some of the symptoms of a depressive episode include anhedonia, disturbances in sleep and appetite, psycomoter retardation, loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness, guilt, difficulty thinking, indecision, and recurrent thoughts of death and suicide. The manic episodes are characterized by elevated or irritable mood, increased energy, decreased need for sleep, poor judgment and insight, and often reckless or irresponsible behavior. Bipolar affective disorder affects approximately one percent of the population (approximately three million people) in the United States. It is presented by both males and females. Bipolar disorder involves episodes of mania and depression.
These episodes may alternate with profound depressions characterized by a pervasive sadness, almost inability to move, hopelessness, and disturbances in appetite, sleep, in concentrations and driving.
Bipolar disorder is diagnosed if an episode of mania occurs whether depression has been diagnosed or not. Most commonly, individuals with manic episodes experience a period of depression. Symptoms include elated, expansive, or irritable mood, hyperactivity, pressure of speech, flight of ideas, inflated self esteem, decreased need for sleep, distractibility, and excessive involvement in reckless activities . Rarest symptoms were periods of loss of all interest and retardation or agitation.
When learning about the bipolar disorder I have learned a lot about it. I have learned about all the causes and about all the symptoms of this disorder. If you have bipolar you have a lot of stress in your life and you can’t even get rid of it really you can calm it down but you’ll never get rid of it. I would think it reall sucks to have bipolar and that’s just my opinion.
Symptoms of mental illness vary and may affect a person’s mood, thinking, and social interaction with others. In comparison to the documentary, Nina Simone has a reputation of being moody and angry to which later she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. There were certain situations in the film where she would write down suicidal thoughts in her journal during her depression and people in the film would recall times where she would have fits of anger throughout her life that affected her career. Evidently, the mental behavior of a person is something that could affect their position in society. In the case of Nina Simone, her mental behavior has affected all aspects of her life regarding her musical career and relationships to which it negatively impacted her career, relationships, and people’s perception of Nina Simone during her life.
Bipolar disorder is a lifelong mood disorder characterized by periods of mania, depression, or a mixed manic-depressive state. The condition can seriously affect a person’s reasoning, understanding, awareness, and behavior. Acco...
The severe mood fluctuations of bipolar or manic-depressive disorders have been around since the 16-century and affect little more than 2% of the population in both sexes, all races, and all parts of the world (Harmon 3). Researchers think that the cause is genetic, but it is still unknown. The one fact of which we are painfully aware of is that bipolar disorder severely undermines its victims ability to obtain and maintain social and occupational success. Because the symptoms of bipolar disorder are so debilitation, it is crucial that we search for possible treatments and cures.
Bipolar Disorder (BD) affects about 2 million people in the United States in any given year. This troubling mental illness can disrupt a person’s daily life and often leads to thoughts of suicide or death. People who get inappropriately diagnosed with BD often get treated with medication that is unnecessary and potentially harmful. BD has become one of the most over diagnosed mental disorders, this due to the overlapping features between BP and other personality disorders. The creation of a universal assessment technique and reeducating the public and professionals would reduce the over-diagnosis problem.
Bipolar Disorder can be classified by the occurrence of manic episodes followed by hypomanic or major depressive episodes. A manic episode is a distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, extensive, or irritable mood and abnormally and persistently increased goal-directed activity or energy, lasting at least 1 week and present most of the day, nearly every day. During the specific period of mood disturbance and increased energy or activity, many symptoms are present. Some examples of these symptoms can include: -Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity, decreased need for sleep, and are more talkative than usual (“Bipolar and Related Disorders, “n.d.). There is a 10- 15% risk of completed suicide associated with Bipolar Disorder (“Bipolar Depression”, 2)
Thomas, P. (2004). The many forms of bipolar disorder: a modern look at an old illness (Research report). Retrieved from http://www.lnfp.dr18.cnrs.fr/publication_labo/The_many.pdf
Centuries of literature and innumerable studies have supported strong cases relating creativity--particularly in the arts, music and literature--to bipolar disorder. Both creativity and bipolar disorder can be attributed to a genetic predisposition and environmental influences. Biographical studies, diagnostic and psychological studies and family studies provide different aspects for examining this relationship.
Crowe, M. (2011). Feeling out of control: A qualitative analysis of the impact of bipolar
In life we all go through experiences that cause our moods to change for better or for worse. There are times that we experience degrees of great joy and happiness just as other times we experience great sadness and despair. These polar emotional opposites can be brought about by a cornucopia of circumstances such as the joy and excitement of getting married or the birth of a child to the deep sadness and grief over the loss of a loved one or one’s employment. Feelings of joy and feelings of sadness are normal parts of human life. Some however are unfortunate enough to be force to cope with these emotions to the extreme and on a regular basis. Some individuals must further cope with an ever present emotion rollercoaster, switching from one emotional extreme to the next with regularity. This personality disorder is known as bipolar disorder.
Bipolar Disorder is a serious and complicated mood disorder characterized by abnormal fluctuations between an individual’s high and low moods. Mania, Depression, Hypomania and Mixed Episodes are the predominant moods that can be identified in the different forms of Bipolar Disorder (GlaxoSmithKlein, 2007). The etiology, symptomology, and treatment for each mood and form of Bipolar Disorder vary as well. Moods can be identified by a person’s level of happiness, sadness, outlook on life and how he may physically feel (Mondimore, 2006). Patients struggling with Bipolar Disorder have difficulty regulating the euphoric highs of mania, the “black hole” feelings of depression, the “softer side” of hypomania and the incessant cycling of Mixed Episodes. With so many different forms of this mood disorder, Bipolar Disorder can be difficult to recognize and treat.
Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a mental condition in which it alters a person’s mood, as well as their overall level of energy to accomplish activities throughout the day. Bipolar disorder is an extremely serious illness that may inhibit career advancement, healthy relationships, and a person’s overall performance in school. Bipolar disorder is caused by an imbalance of chemicals in the brain, and in many cases this illness is passed through a family’s gene pool. Although we know important key aspects of bipolar disorder, the causes are not completely understood. “During the manic phase, people with bipolar disorder are typically over talkative, overactive, elated, and lack the need to sleep or rest” (Myers, 2011, p. 662).
...ve them of their inspiration and interfere with their creativity. It is a thorny, and relatively new, question, and Jamison merely outlines the controversy without offering an opinion on what should be done to rectify the situation, leaving the door open for further research. Mental illness in artists is a fascinating subject, and Jamison does an excellent job of providing a through portrait of many artists who have grappled with manic-depressive disorder, in addition to exploring how these disorders affect creativity and productivity. Jamison also maintains an awareness of the objections to her attempts to draw a correlation
Bipolar Disorder is one of the oldest known illnesses (Barg). The study of the disorder began in the first century when Aretaeus of Cappadocia, a greek physician and philosopher linked the ideas of melancholy and mania (Burton). Although his ideas went unobserved for centuries, his ideas became relevant in the modern era (Krans). The modern view of the disorder arose in the 19th century when Jean-Pierre Falret proposed the idea that it ran in families and had a strong genetic tie (Burton). In the 1900's, German psychiatrist Emil Kraerelin observed that the untreated disorder involved symptom-free intervals, which differentiated it from schizophrenia (Burton). This later was accepted as the prevalent theory in the 1930's (Barg). Throughout the
The film, Of Two Minds, is based on real life accounts of individuals living with bipolar disorder. Before watching this film, I had an idea of what bipolar disorder is , but after viewing this film I was completely mistaken. Previously, I thought being bipolar was going from a “normal” mood to an angry or sad mood in a matter of seconds and could be simply fixed by taking medicine. But my previous thoughts were completely wrong and bipolar disorder is very serious and complicated. I didn’t know the severity of this disease and I think a lot of the general public is uneducated about bipolar disorder as well as mental illness. Terri Cheney describes having bipolar disorder as, “Take the best day you ever had and multiply it by a million, it 's like a flu but one hundred times worse. It 's having flu in your mind."