Bipolar Disorder Essay

Bipolar disorder I is a mood disorder characterized by periods of manic behavior alternating with major depression. “Bipolar disorder affects about five million seven hundred thousand adult Americans each year”, says the national institute of health. There are two types of Bipolar disorder; there is Bipolar disorder one and two. Bipolar Disorder I is requires at least one manic episode and in 80-90% of cases, people also experience depression. A manic episode is defined as a distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood lasting at least one week or more. Some symptoms that distinguish the difference between bipolar I are: agitation, suicidal, family history of bipolar disorder, increased frequency of depressive episodes, and usually found in younger ages. Although the bipolar one should be treated properly, bipolar one in most cases needs more attention/treatment. With that being said, if someone with bipolar one disorder is not in a healthy environment for someone who is bipolar than the affects can be horrible. Having Bipolar disorder is said to take nine years off your life expectancy.
Bipolar disorder is believed to be a genetic disease. Bipolar I disorder is rarer than bipolar II. Once again if a parent has bipolar disorder than the offspring is at a higher risk rate for bipolar disorder. A study at John Hopkins was done amongst patients with bipolar disorder.
“The researchers found that 40% of the 47 first-degree relatives of the bipolar II patients also had bipolar II disorder; 22% of the 219 first-degree relatives of the bipolar I patients had bipolar II disorder. However, among patients with bipolar II, researchers found only one relative with bipolar I disorder. They concl...

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... very severe. If these two diseases are not treated properly then a coexistable disease can turn into a very life threating disease. Now the disease can turn life threating in many ways that have already been covered. For example, some people resort to drug and alcohol abuse to cope with the disease due to their severe depression. Especially people with bipolar one disorder, they have a higher chance of falling victim to substance and alcohol abuse. Also, bipolar disorder can be a symptom of alcoholism. The medication for bipolar disorder is a combination of mood stabilizers, seditave-hyptonics, and mood stabilizers. Other treatments are to have a stable environment, where the subject can take the medication, psychotherapy, stress reduction, and to educate the family on bipolar disorder. Furthermore, subjects can coexist with bipolar disorder when treated properly.