Bipolar disorder is one of several medical conditions called depressive disorders; wish to affect the way a person’s brain function. Bipolar disorder affects about 60 million people worldwide [1]. People in the Middle East may be suffering from bipolar disorder without knowing it because of the lack of awareness about the condition and cultural beliefs, wish to prevent them from being diagnosed [1].
“Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks”[2].
Bipolar disorder has many names: bipolar mood disorder, bipolar affective disorder, manic depression, manic-depressive disorder, and manic-depressive illness are medical terms for the same condition [3]. The episodes of bipolar disorder start to occur in the early twenties or even in children [3]. Bipolar disorders classify into four types; all of them involve in clear changes in mood, energy, and activity level [2]. These moods range from a period of extremely energized behavior to very sad or hopeless periods [2].
The first type is bipolar I disorder; they are manic episodes that last at least 7 days, or by manic symptoms that are so severe that the person needs immediate hospital care [2]. Usually, depressive episodes wish last at least 2 weeks [2]. Episodes of depression with mixed features (having manic symptoms and depression at the same time) are also possible [2]. The second type is bipolar II disorder; it is a pattern of depressive episodes and hypomanic episodes, but not the full-blown manic episodes described above [2]. The third type is a cyclothymic disorder (also known as cyclothymia); they are numerous periods of hypomanic symptoms as well as numerous periods of depressive symptoms lasting for at least 2 years [2]. However, the symptoms do not meet the diagnostic requirements for a hypomanic episode and a depressive episode [2]. The fourth type is other specified and unspecified bipolar and related disorder; it is bipolar disorder symptoms that do not match the three categories listed above [2].
Bipolar include unusual mood changes along with thoughts, behavior, activity levels, or unusual sleep habits. People may have depressive episodes, manic episodes, or mixed episodes. A mixed episode has both depressive symptoms and manic. These mood episodes cause the symptoms to last a week or two or sometimes longer. During an episode, the symptoms last every day for most of the day [4]. Mood episodes are intense. The feelings are strong and happen along with extreme changes in energy levels and behavior. People having a manic episode may: feel very “up” or “high”, feel “jumpy” or “wired”, become more active than usual, have trouble sleeping, talk really fast about a lot of different things, irritable, be agitated, or “touchy”, think they can do a lot of things at once, feel like their thoughts are going very fast, do risky things such as spend a lot of money, or have reckless sex [4]. People having a depressive episode may: feel very “down” or sad, sleep too much or too little, feel like they can’t enjoy anything, feeling worried and empty, have trouble concentrating, forget things a lot, eat too much or too little, feel tired or “slowed down”, have trouble sleeping, or think about death or suicide [4].
Doctors and scientists don’t know the exact cause of bipolar disorder, but they think that brain structure and function, genetic, and environmental factors may be involved [3]. Brain structure and function: the brains of people with bipolar disorder may differ from the brains of healthy people or people with other mental disorders. Learning more about these differences, along with new information from genetic studies, helps scientists better understand bipolar disorder and predict which types of treatment will work most effectively [2]. Genetic: people with certain genes are more likely to develop bipolar disorder than others. But genes are not the only risk factor for bipolar disorder [2]. Environmental factors: for some teens stresses such as their parent’s divorce, a death in the family, or other traumatic events that may trigger the first episode of mania or depression [3].
Right now, there is no cure for bipolar disorder, but treatment can help control the symptoms. The most of people can get help for mood changes and behavior problems. Steady, dependable treatment works better than treatment that starts and stops [4]. Treatment options include medication, therapy, and other treatments. The first way for treatment is medication. There are several types of medication that can help. Some people respond to medications in different ways, so the type of medication depends on the patient. Sometimes a person needs to try different medications to see which works best [4]. The second type is therapy such as different kinds of psychotherapy or “talk” therapy can help people with bipolar disorder. Therapy can help them change their behavior and manage their lives. It can also help the patients to get along with family and friends. Sometimes therapy includes family members [4]. And there are other treatments that can help to treat bipolar. Sometimes patients do not get better with medication and therapy. These patients may try electroconvulsive therapy or ECT. This is sometimes called “shock” therapy. ECT provides a quick electric current that can sometimes correct problems in the brain [4].
In conclusion, bipolar disorder is one of the conditions that affect the brain’s function. It is caused by many factors such as brain structure and function, genetic, and environmental. There many names of bipolar disorder (bipolar mood disorder, bipolar affective disorder, manic depression, manic-depressive disorder, and manic-depressive illness) are medical terms for the same condition. Also, there are many types of bipolar disorder. In the present time, there is no cure for bipolar disorder, but treatment can help control symptoms.