Bipolar Disorder: A Psychological Analysis

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Like most things in life, there are many variables to take into account before someone is diagnosed with Bipolar disorder. I agree with Carlson (2009) when he states that there is an issue with the definition and assessment of Bipolar disorder. Psychology diagnoses are constantly changing because we are continuously discovering specific criteria to meet disorders such as Bipolar. The hardest part of psychology is correctly diagnosing a disorder because symptoms between different diagnoses can intersect (such as hyperactivity as a symptom of ADHD and mania). That is why one professional diagnosis will not be the same as another professional diagnosis of the same client. I find that in this field it is all about perspective. Your past experiences …show more content…

Carlson states that there are multiple factors that are involved in the symptomology of clients. He indicates that psychosocial variables play a major role in development and that further research needs to be done to understand the impact of early childhood maltreatment and how that effects the human brain. Ultimately, I agree with most of what Carlson is stating in this article because within psychology there are millions of variables that are differ between two different people. Their life paths are never exactly the same. I think that it is safe to say that there is a spectrum of mood disorders, and symptoms often tend to overlap. However every case is specific to the individual and treatment should be specific to that individual as well. I strongly agree with the fact that we need to take more precautions as professionals with treatment and understand that the maltreatment of children can greatly impact the cognitive development of the brain (Carlson, et al. …show more content…

Every professional should read this article because it has valuable information in terms of diagnosing. Youngstorm states that to meet bipolar criteria, you have to show a lifetime of MDD and manic episodes. A professional may not get a lifetime of symptoms in one evaluation with a new client. They may not disclose this information, or the professional may take it upon themselves to assume that the client has had a lifetime of these events, although they may have only started in the past few years. Maybe after a professional gets to know a client after a few sessions they are able to correctly diagnose a client. I know from my personal experience of being prescribed mood stabilizers, that it wasn’t the correct diagnosis. I was a teenager, struggling from trauma. I presented symptoms of what looked like cyclothymic disorder but all medications made me worse instead of better. I was able to go to therapy and do the work emotionally instead of being medicated and it was a greater help than anything. I think that professionals are given limited time, with nervous clients, and assess a situation and need to label it right away (usually for insurance purposes). I agree with Younstorm that there is a continuum of mood disorders. There are the more severe cases that are easier to identify but there are also the broader mood disruptions that can classify as well and

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