Just for a moment, imagine being a child who is unable to have a stable youth because of recurrent episodes of major depression with manic symptoms, intermingled with phases of normal behavior and hypomanic periods. Bipolar disorder – also called manic-depressive disorder – is a disorder that entails severe mood swings; fluctuating from the most horrible depressions to the most euphoric and energetic phases (Birmaher, 2013). The DSM-IV TR portrays Bipolar I Disorder as an illness during which a patient is affected by mood changes that last from weeks to months. This means, that the patient goes through periods of depression, followed by a normal state for a short period of time before the onset of a manic episode. As stated by the DSM-IV TR, Bipolar I disorder is characterized by the occurrence of at least one manic episode, one mixed episode and one period of major depression. There are also various subtypes to Bipolar I disorder, such as Bipolar II disorder – which is characterized by the occurrence of at least one depressive and one manic episode that occur in a form noticable to others but causing less impairment, and cyclothymic disorder – which involves fluctuating mood disturbance including less severe periods of depression and mania that last for short periods over an interval of at least two years (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). According to many studies, the amount of children and adolescents who are diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder increased rapidly over the last few years. According to the DSM-IV TR, the prevalence of the disorder amongst children and adolescents is around 1%. However, a team of academics described there is a forty-fold increase of the amount children or adolescents that were being diagnosed... ... middle of paper ... ...act-sheet/index.shtml Parens, E., & Johnston, J. (2010). Controversies concerning the diagnosis and treatment of bipolar disorder in children. Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health, 4(9). Bretka, B.S. (2013). A Guide to DSM-5: Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD). Medscape Psychiatry. Retrieved from: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/803884_6 Dusetzina, S. B., Farley, J. F., Weinberger, M., Gaynes, B. N., Sleath, B., & Hansen, R. A. (2012). Treatment Use and Costs Among Privately Insured Youths With Diagnoses of Bipolar Disorder. Psychiatric Services, 63(10), 1019-1025. Stokowski, L. A. (2009). Bipolar disorder and adhd in children: Confusion and comorbidity. Retrieved from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/711223_4 Patel, N. C., & Sallee, F. R. (2005). What’s the best treatment for comorbid ADHD/bipolar mania?. Curr Psychiatry, 4, 27-37.
I have chosen to do a paper on Bipolar Disorder. Bipolar is a disorder in when a person’s mood inappropriately alternates between feelings of mania and depression. A bipolar mania is a mental illness classified by psychiatry as a mood disorder. Also individuals with bipolar disorder experience episodes of an elevated or agitated mood known as mania or hypomania, depending on the severity alternating with episodes of depression.
Bipolar Disorder (Formerly known as Manic Depression) is a mental illness linked to alterations in moods such as mood swings, mania, and depression. There is more than one type, Bipolar I and Bipolar II, and the subcategories are divided by the severity of the symptoms seen, such as cyclothymic disorder, seasonal mood changes, rapid cycling disorder and psychosis. Age of onset usually occurs between 15-30 years old with an average onset of 25 years old but it can affect all ages. (Harvard Medical School; Massachusetts General Hospital , 2013) Bipolar disorder affects more than two million people in the United States every year. (Gardner, 2011)
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Uebelacker, L. A., Miller, I. W., Keitner, G. I., Ryan, C., & Solomon, D. A. (2006). The impact of family treatment on family functioning in Bipolar I disorder. Journal of Family Psychology. 20, 701-704.
Bipolar disorder can strike at any age but most commonly strikes at age 18 in bipolar I; for bipolar II disorder, the age is 22 (Durand and Barlow 189). It has also been found that children can be seen with bipolar disorder early on. This is not very prevalent, and is only one in every 200 cases. This is thought to occur because many children with manic depression might have been misdiagnosed or just thought of as hyperactive and disruptive. The early symptoms of childhood bipolar disorder, distractibility, irritability, and hyperactivity are also the signs of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)(Harvard Mental Health Letter, March 1997). It is mainly for this reason that many cases might be misdiagnosed as ADHD and the prevalence of bipolar disorder in children could be much higher.
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The documentary “The Medicated Child” gave me a lot of insight into the lives of children diagnosed with bipolar disorder. When we hear and learn about bipolar disorder, we do not normally think of children. However, there are many children diagnosed with bipolar disorder ranging from all ages. As we saw in the documentary, bipolar disorder can be very hard on both the child and the family, so finding a cure that is effective and safe is important. The video also highlighted how little research there has been on the effectiveness of antidepressants on children.
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