In the twenty-first century, psychological problems associated with mood disorders, become epidemic. Every second faced depressing, apathy, even depression.
Many are familiar with the state of "flight", euphoria, when any business is possible. But it happens that these sentiments are expressed so excessively that it goes beyond normal.
In such cases we can talk about psychiatric diagnosis. What is it - bipolar disorder?
Concept and features
What does bipolar disorder mean?
Bipolar affective disorder refers to diseases that related to mood disorders.
It is a chronic endogenous mental disorder in which a person has two opposite phases alternate - elevated mood, euphoria (manic phase) and low mood, depression (depression).
These periods can be different in duration and intensity, alternate each other continuously or alternate with bright intervals (intermission).
Bipolar disorder - difficult enough to diagnose disease. Often, when you first meet a patient, the doctor sees the clinical signs of only one phase.
Therefore, bipolar depression is mistaken for depression, and the manic phase of BAR is not always possible to differentiate from schizophrenia or affective state after taking alcohol or drugs.
The exact same diagnosis is often established only several years after the first episode of the disease, when both opposite phases manifest themselves.
The term “bipolar disorder” itself appeared not so long ago, in 1980. Earlier in psychiatry, this disease was called "affective insanity"but this is not entirely true.
Far from every patient attacks reach such strength to acquire the nature of psychosis. Therefore, in the modern classification of mental illness, the term TIR has been replaced by BAR.
Diagnosed with bipolar affective personality disorder today 1-2% of the world's population lives.
What is the main characteristic of manic-depressive syndrome? Find out from the video:
Classification
Depending on how the disease manifests itself, distinguish bipolar disorder of the first and second type:
- Bipolar affective disorder of the first type. The first type of bipolar disorder is diagnosed if the disease first manifests itself in a manic episode and subsequently these episodes recur, regardless of the presence of depressive phases. This type is more common in men than in women.
- Bipolar affective disorder of the second type. For the second type of BAR is characterized by the predominance of depressive phases. At the same time in the history should be at least one hypomania episode. Women suffer more from this type of disease, and in general, BAR 2 is more common than the first type of this disease.
Causes
At the moment, psychiatry is still studying bipolar affective disorder and it is not completely clear what provokes the onset of the disease. However, major risk factors have been identified.
- Genetic factor. In the occurrence of a disease such as BAR, heredity plays an important role. If such cases were diagnosed in the family, the probability of getting sick increases sevenfold. Moreover, according to some studies, the most likely transfer of genes responsible for the occurrence of bipolar disorder through the generation.
- Chemical imbalance The mood of a person depends on the chemical processes occurring in the brain. Neurotransmitters (serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine) that transmit signals between nerve cells are responsible for this. With a decrease in the concentration of these hormones, a person experiences a state of depression, and with an increase - mania.
Stress. Strong experiences are always a serious risk factor for people prone to mental disorders. Illness of relatives, divorce, job change, financial problems lead to mental overload. Moreover, not only negative experiences, but also positive ones can provoke a disease. Such joyful events as the birth of a child, the purchase of an apartment or a journey beat a person out of his usual emotional rut and, if there is a predisposition, can cause bipolar affective disorder. Some patients note that repeated episodes of BAR were triggered by minor stress, which had not been seen before the illness.- Parents age. Studies show that if a man becomes a father after 45 years, his child’s risk of BAR increases.
- Reception of psychoactive substances. Drinking alcohol or drugs can lead to many mental illnesses, including bipolar affective disorder.
And for those children whose parents were diagnosed with BAR, other disorders, such as attention deficit disorder, may appear.
Stress. Strong experiences are always a serious risk factor for people prone to mental disorders. Illness of relatives, divorce, job change, financial problems lead to mental overload. Moreover, not only negative experiences, but also positive ones can provoke a disease. Such joyful events as the birth of a child, the purchase of an apartment or a journey beat a person out of his usual emotional rut and, if there is a predisposition, can cause bipolar affective disorder. Some patients note that repeated episodes of BAR were triggered by minor stress, which had not been seen before the illness.Phases of the disease
Depressed
As a rule, patients who have been diagnosed with bipolar affective personality disorder, most often faced with depressive phase of this disease.
The duration of depressive episodes is higher than manic and ranges from a month to a year or even two years with no treatment.
Symptoms of depression in bipolar affective disorder are most pronounced in the morning hours, and by the evening there is an improvement.
There are several stages of bipolar depression:
- initial. At this stage, the symptoms of the disease are expressed slightly. A little deteriorated mood, reduced vitality and performance. The quality of sleep deteriorates, it becomes more superficial;
- increasing depression. A person feels causeless anxiety, mental, speech and motor inhibition appears, as a result of which working capacity deteriorates significantly. There is insomnia and loss of appetite;
- severe depression. At this stage, there is a real depressive psychosis, when all the symptoms are maximally expressed. Anguish and anxiety become painful, thoughts of their own insignificance appear. There may be auditory hallucinations.
- reactive stage. Final phase with a gradual weakening of the signs of depression.
The patient needs hospitalization in a psychiatric clinic, since without serious treatment this degree of bipolar depression ends in suicide.
Manic
Mania is the exact opposite of depressionstate of gratuitous joy, joy, euphoria.
A person has a lot of new ideas, speech and motor activity are noticed.
First symptomtalking about the approach of mania, is to reduce the duration of sleep to 3-4 hours per day. In this case, the person feels sleepy and vigorous. The duration of the manic phase is from a week to several months.
There are two types of mania - hypomania and manic psychosis.
- Hypomania. Hypomania can be called an easy version of the manic state. The patient in this phase is constantly cheerful, active, sociable. He takes on any job, often starts a new business. In this case, a person is prone to rash money spending, promiscuous sex, the use of large doses of alcohol or drugs.
- Manic psychosis. Manic psychosis is manifested by increased psychomotor agitation, acceleration of thought processes. At this stage, the person loses the ability to adequately perceive the situation, is prone to overestimating his or her capabilities, performing rash acts, and aggression. Patients leave the family, gaining loans for huge sums. As the disease progresses, megalomania appears. A person considers himself the owner of the billionth state or the ruler of the fate of the world. There may be a delusion of persecution, a sense of surveillance. Speech becomes jerky and incoherent. Manic psychosis requires treatment in a hospital.
Without treatment, hypomania can develop into full-fledged mania.
Features of the disorder in children
In children, BAR most often occurs during puberty, but can manifest itself at the age of six or seven years.
However, due to the complexity of diagnosis, it is not immediately possible to accurately classify the disease, sometimes it takes years.
A distinctive feature of BAR in children is a quick change in the phases of mania and depression. Such children are often distinguished by scattered attention, it is difficult for them to concentrate on one task, therefore they are rarely successful in their studies.
The phase of mania in childhood is different from the adult, it is less pronounced. Usually, it is manifested by increased activity, talkativeness, irritability, unwillingness to follow generally accepted norms and rules.
In the depression phase, children become closed, lethargic, passive. They can not find a common language with peers and adults.
Adolescents suffering from bipolar depression are prone to alcohol and drug use. They constantly think about suicide and often commit it.
About features of bipolar affective disorder in adolescence You can learn from the video:
What is manic schizophrenia?
Not so long ago in psychiatry there was such a diagnosis as manic schizophrenia.
From other forms of schizophrenia, it was distinguished by a phase change. increased excitability with moderate delirium and depression.
Later, psychiatrists singled out her in a separate disease - manic-depressive psychosis. In modern mental illness classifiers, the diagnosis of manic schizophrenia has been replaced by bipolar affective disorder.
In the stage of mania with the patient's MDP easily confused with schizophreniaIn these diseases, psychosis can develop with similar symptoms. Also, both of these diseases are of the same nature.
Video about how manifest manic syndrome - a delusion of greatness:
Schizoaffective disorder - manic type
A disease that exists at the junction of schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder is known. This is a manic type of schizoaffective personality disorder.
In this disease within a single attack manifest as manic, and schizophrenic symptoms. As with the mood disorder, the patient shows excessive excitability, activity, often aggression.
He is visited by ideas of his own greatness and persecution.
Also typical are schizophrenic symptoms. not characteristic of bar.
For example, these are auditory hallucinations ("voices"). The patient believes that someone is leading his actions, and his thoughts are bugged.
The schizoaffective disorder of manic type is characterized by an acute onset with pronounced symptoms. The disease responds well to therapy. and after a few weeks there comes a cure.
Schizoaffective psychosis is evident in this video:
How to get sick BAR?
If there is a genetic predisposition is at risk, but can he deliberately cause such a disease as BAR?
In psychiatry, there are cases when one of the twins was diagnosed with bipolar personality disorder during adolescence, and the second did not encounter this disease until the end of his life.
At the moment, it is not definitively established that gives impetus to the development of the disease.
All the causes leading to a BAR only increase the likelihood of getting sick, but even the sum of all the negative factors does not mean for sure that the person will have this ailment.
Bipolar affective personality disorder is mood disorder. It does not lead to a decrease in mental abilities or loss of any skills.
People faced with this disease forced to constantly take medicine, but at the same time live a full life, work and create families. With the help of doctors, BAR can be kept under control.
