Some people reading this may not be completely aware of what bipolar disorder is and the effects it has on people who have it and others around them. There are so many people who suffer from mental disorders and don't even know it or are misdiagnosed. When I have to give a quick explanation it's, most people's moods fluctuate up and down within a grey area but when you have bipolar disorder the fluctuation raises above and below that grey line.
Being manic has many stages from feeling like you can do anything like being over confident, or gives a high feeling. When I'm highly manic my mind starts to race and can't hold thoughts for long and I can't concentrate or sleep. Sometimes when I'm in public like a mall, it feels as if everything around me is on fast forward, I can't hold on to a particular thought or event.
The depressive or low feeling comes out in various ways. Often people think depression is a state of not wanting to live. Most depressive people don't have symptoms like that. It feels hard to get out of bed in the morning a feeling of low energy during the day, no motivation, over sleeping or a foggy head, those can be signs of a minor depression.
To go into further details I'll list more of the symptoms...
Manic
-Feeling unusually “high” and optimistic OR extremely irritable
-Unrealistic, grandiose beliefs about one’s abilities or powers
-Sleeping very little, but feeling extremely energetic
-Talking so rapidly that others can’t keep up
-Racing thoughts; jumping quickly from one idea to the next
-Highly distractible, unable to concentrate
-Impaired judgement and impulsiveness
-Acting recklessly without thinking about the consequences
-Delusions and hallucinations (in severe cases)
Depressive
-Feeling hopeless, sad, or empty.
-Irritability
-Inability to experience pleasure
-Fatigue or loss of energy
-Physical and mental sluggishness
-Appetite or weight changes
-Sleep problems
-Concentration and memory problems
-Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
-Thoughts of death or suicide
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/bipolar_disorder_symptoms_treatment.htm
The following web site has a test you can take that will give you an idea if you have bipolar disorder.
http://psychcentral.com/quizzes/bipolarquiz.htm
Often people are afraid of some one with bipolar disorder. This disorder can be treated in various ways so the person's mood stays within that grey area. It can be difficult talking to some one when their mood changes. I suggest when you know a person is manic keep your voice low and if the manic person is over whelmed or stuck on one thing that is causing stress or you know isn't healthy, try changing the conversation to some thing that focuses their attention on a lighter or humorous topic. This will decrease their stress b/c once the mind is in a bad loop of thoughts it's hard to get out of.
Some times when people are depressed they need others to push them out in a strategic way, to do some thing about it. It may just be finding a Dr to go to or other help like getting them out of the house. At my lowest point I needed some one to help me with every day things, taking stress off of me so that I could focus on getting the help I needed. Some of these things were making sure my bills were paid, helping me research options like Drs, counsellors, etc. or even being checked in on to make sure I was going out and knew I had a person I could call and talk to when I needed. It always helps to have a person that knows a little bit about what your going through even if it's only what's researched.
A surrounding environment has a huge effect on people especially some one with bipolar disorder. Friends and family should be aware of this and try to facilitate it. My previous blog entry states some sites to go for further information regarding this subject.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Effects Of The Enviroment On Bipolar Disorder
I had an interesting conversation today about what causes a mental disorder or where does it come from, specifically bipolar disorder. My view is that all of us are born with a brain that mechanicaly works differently than others, being bipolar or having other conditions like ADD may be natural, God given gifts and it's our society that creates this atmosphere where it becomes the disorder.
I spent some time in Uganda, Africa and society is a lot different there. There isn't the pressure to fit into a mould and success isn't measured by the same standards as we have in our society. I saw people flourish in this environment and not have to struggle through life trying to figure out who they are. What I learnt is to find my own talents and improve on them, not fight against them. I often heard as a kid, 'You can do anything you want to'. No I can't and I really shouldn't try unless I have the burning passion and/or talent needed.
Coming back to my conversation with my friend. He felt that all of us are born with this difference in our brain, normally called a chemical unbalance, and if we were placed in any enviroment from A-Z we would still feel and act the same way as we do now.
The evidence in studies show that nutrition and the home, work or other environments affect a person with bipolar disorder greatly and sujests that ones genes play a part. It is recommended that some one with a mental disorder should have a stable, low stress and scheduled environment. There is a lot of data that referes to the fact that people have triggers when being bipolar. Symptoms you never had can be triggered by a major event leading you to your diagnosis or you can be triggered into having an episode.
If this is true then there is a possibility that when some one with bipolar disorder is in an environment without stress and is eating healthy food, like where I was in Africa, they may not suffer as many or no side effects in which their bipolar disorder wouldn't interfere in their life.
The following are some of the web pages I received my facts from.
http://www.foodforthebrain.org/content.asp?id_Content=1713
http://www.healthyplace.com/bipolar-disorder/bipolar-treatment/how-triggers-affect-bipolar-disorder-gsd/menu-id-67/
http://www.phobias-help.com/bipolar_disorder/Causes_of_Bipolar_Disorder.html
I spent some time in Uganda, Africa and society is a lot different there. There isn't the pressure to fit into a mould and success isn't measured by the same standards as we have in our society. I saw people flourish in this environment and not have to struggle through life trying to figure out who they are. What I learnt is to find my own talents and improve on them, not fight against them. I often heard as a kid, 'You can do anything you want to'. No I can't and I really shouldn't try unless I have the burning passion and/or talent needed.
Coming back to my conversation with my friend. He felt that all of us are born with this difference in our brain, normally called a chemical unbalance, and if we were placed in any enviroment from A-Z we would still feel and act the same way as we do now.
The evidence in studies show that nutrition and the home, work or other environments affect a person with bipolar disorder greatly and sujests that ones genes play a part. It is recommended that some one with a mental disorder should have a stable, low stress and scheduled environment. There is a lot of data that referes to the fact that people have triggers when being bipolar. Symptoms you never had can be triggered by a major event leading you to your diagnosis or you can be triggered into having an episode.
If this is true then there is a possibility that when some one with bipolar disorder is in an environment without stress and is eating healthy food, like where I was in Africa, they may not suffer as many or no side effects in which their bipolar disorder wouldn't interfere in their life.
The following are some of the web pages I received my facts from.
http://www.foodforthebrain.org/content.asp?id_Content=1713
http://www.healthyplace.com/bipolar-disorder/bipolar-treatment/how-triggers-affect-bipolar-disorder-gsd/menu-id-67/
http://www.phobias-help.com/bipolar_disorder/Causes_of_Bipolar_Disorder.html
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Statistics
Recently I posted questions about some stats regarding mental disorders. Even after I put away my notes with the answers to the question, I had a difficult time answering them. I didn't get the right answers. The results are shoking
The correct answers are as follows,
-Over the last 19 yrs, what percentage of North Americans have been diagnosed with a Mood Disorder? 9.5%
-Do cases of Anxiety Disorder quadruple cases of Depression Disorder? Approximately 40 million American adults ages 18 and older, or about 18.1 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have an anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder affects approximately 14.8 million American adults, or about 6.7 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year. Even though it's close, the answer is no.
-What is the median age of onset for a mood disorder? 30yrs.
In America, the estimation of people that suffer from mood disorders is of 1/4 of the population and has become the leading cause of disability in North America. Recently the awareness has grown a little but we still have a long way to go, especially in the area of acceptance with all parties involved.
In my point of view which is based on stats and logic, it is that acceptance and knowledge is a key towards help. More than 90% of people who commit suicide have a mental disorder so this is a concern we should all have.
I have taken the information from, http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/the-numbers-count-mental-disorders-in-america/index.shtml.
The correct answers are as follows,
-Over the last 19 yrs, what percentage of North Americans have been diagnosed with a Mood Disorder? 9.5%
-Do cases of Anxiety Disorder quadruple cases of Depression Disorder? Approximately 40 million American adults ages 18 and older, or about 18.1 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have an anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder affects approximately 14.8 million American adults, or about 6.7 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year. Even though it's close, the answer is no.
-What is the median age of onset for a mood disorder? 30yrs.
In America, the estimation of people that suffer from mood disorders is of 1/4 of the population and has become the leading cause of disability in North America. Recently the awareness has grown a little but we still have a long way to go, especially in the area of acceptance with all parties involved.
In my point of view which is based on stats and logic, it is that acceptance and knowledge is a key towards help. More than 90% of people who commit suicide have a mental disorder so this is a concern we should all have.
I have taken the information from, http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/the-numbers-count-mental-disorders-in-america/index.shtml.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
When Stress Makes Stress
At a point in my life I had to remove myself from anything that caused me stress. Because of my situation this is what I needed to do at the time. It's also a great coping mechanism for any one who feels overwhelmed with the stress of life.
There is a point that it's healthy to remove yourself from 'triggers' or situations that you know will lead you down the path, focusing on stress. Once you have finally learnt how to say NO to all those people that encourage you in the wrong direction, when is it time to even out that pendulum?
I have things in my life that creates stress and most of the time I will put it out of my mind if it's not an initiate matter. Recently I've had excruciating back and neck pains. Long story, short, I had a stressful problem that I couldn't deal with. Without me knowing, internally this creating more stress, enabling me from solving other day-to-day problems and tasks that other wise would be simple.
Once I addressed the original thing that caused all this stress, immediately my neck and back hollered an appreciation.
Most people call this procrastination but it's more than that if you have a mental illness. How do we begin to solve this problem? Do you have a suggestion? So far with most of my inabilities, the most I've learnt is that when I can see what I need to change, that's most of the battle.
There is a point that it's healthy to remove yourself from 'triggers' or situations that you know will lead you down the path, focusing on stress. Once you have finally learnt how to say NO to all those people that encourage you in the wrong direction, when is it time to even out that pendulum?
I have things in my life that creates stress and most of the time I will put it out of my mind if it's not an initiate matter. Recently I've had excruciating back and neck pains. Long story, short, I had a stressful problem that I couldn't deal with. Without me knowing, internally this creating more stress, enabling me from solving other day-to-day problems and tasks that other wise would be simple.
Once I addressed the original thing that caused all this stress, immediately my neck and back hollered an appreciation.
Most people call this procrastination but it's more than that if you have a mental illness. How do we begin to solve this problem? Do you have a suggestion? So far with most of my inabilities, the most I've learnt is that when I can see what I need to change, that's most of the battle.
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