The Struggles of Living with Bipolar Disorder

Having Bipolar Disorder

Los Angeles Mission College

People of all gender, cultures, ethnicities, and race live day to day life. What I mean by that is we as human have a life to live; people too see, places to go and things to do. But what if you weren’t able to do all the things that everyone else does. For people who have trouble in that area or in other areas can get tested and medicated to help them be able to live the life everyone else does so naturally.

So, I will be writing and informing you about a certain disorder called "Bipolar disorder". Some information I will be discussing would be; causes of the disorder, genetics, prevalence and types of treatment. This disorder has caught my attention to write because I have seen my older sister struggle with Bipolar disorder since I was about 12 years old. Growing up it wasn’t always easy or fun nor was it the worst but seeing all the symptoms and behaviors my sister would go through was extremely confusing until I was about 16 when we found out what was going on.

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She also had suffered from depression, claustrophobia and anxiety and that is something she struggles with on a day to day basis. People of all ages can be experiencing symptoms of bipolar disorder and not even know it. It is important that they get the help they need and take their medication and or meditations to help them get better. Bipolar disorder can be dangerous if not treated or controlled.

Abstract

Let's start with getting to know a bit about this Bipolar disorder also known as manic. Bipolar disorder is a mental disorder and a mood disorder with many different changes such as change in moods, lack of energy, negative or depressive thoughts/ depression and lack of control of self-behavior (WebMD). This Disease impairs your daily functions. But did you know there are different types of Bipolar disorder? There are 3 types of bipolar disorder, Bipolar I Disorder, Bipolar II Disorder and Cyclothymia (Everyday Health). These three are all bipolar disorder but different levels of it.

Next, what causes this disorder you might ask? Well they haven’t narrowed it down just to one cause but your environment, genetics, stress, changes in the human brain all have a connection to this disorder. We don’t know exactly when you can develop bipolar disorder but we know that it is usually found in the stages of late adolescence that are the middle school and high school years into your twenties(Erikson). Or they can develop in the stage of young adult that are from your twenties to early forties (Erikson). We say these ages or times frames because usually people think their moods are normal and they are just moody people but it's not until they realize that they are unhappy or not like everyone else and seek for help. and we don’t like to look for signs in children because they are still developing and going through changes so therefore it's mostly in adults and not infants or younger children. Growing up with my sister and seeing her just get so angry and violent from one second to the next and then excited, depressed, suicidal, anxious and just rapid changes in her behavior growing up was very confusing. I would see my sister come home drunk or on drugs and she would always get into trouble and we just always thought she was very rebellious and no one could tell her what to do or otherwise. But it wasn’t until she turned about 18 years old where she felt like she needed help and asked for help and got it and it became very clear to us that she has a mental disorder.

Most all illnesses, disorders, facial features and personalities are past down from the gene pool. So, is this disorder genetic you might ask? Many researchers can't exactly point out which genes or even if there is something genetic passing down this disorder threw the family tree (health line). But they say there is a bigger chance of a person getting bipolar disorder when someone in the family has had it in the past, perhaps a dad, uncle great grandfather or grandmother. Even after if all those relatives have had this disorder, there is still a big chance you might not even develop the disorder. Looking up to see if genetics come in to play for this disorder caught my attention because you hear about people shooting up, building, crowds, school or doing other serious stuff. It makes me think were they just crazy or is there a mental illness involved and did anyone in their family line ever have a mental illness causing them to perhaps do somethings that might harm themselves and or others.

In addition, everyone is human and different meaning we all run, think, act, and react differently to thing in the world. So, when you see or hear a teenager is feeling depressed or an adult acting a bit moody our first thoughts might be they just being teenagers looking for attention or there old and going through menopause. Our minds don’t just think oh they have a mental health disorder or they are struggling with bipolar disorder. When we hear, someone has bipolar disorder who or what age group do we think is more likely to suffer more from this disorder? Teenagers (14-18), young adults (19-40) and adults (41-60) are most likely to suffer more from this disorder. We believe women are also struggling more than men but we also think it might because women have their menstrual cycle and are also more in touch with their feelings or are more emotional and talkative about their feelings. Were as men don’t talk about their feeling so it is harder for them to come out and ask for help.

Finally, if only there was something that could help us keep bipolar under control … oh wait there is! We have treatments and medications to make someone who struggles with this disorder more at ease and being able to control these mood changes and thoughts they might have. Not everyone is okay nor likes to take medication and for those people there are therapies you can go to for treatments. Here is a list of therapies you can look up and decide if it is write for you: Cognitive behavioral therapy, family therapy, support groups, Psychotherapy, interpersonal, electronvulsive, social Rhyme, Psychoeducation and you could also try to write down ur feelings in a paper and throw them away. There are many options for treatment but the first step would be to seek help and go from there. Medication is another treatment and is also very help for ones who do struggle with this disorder. Some medication you might be prescribed would be Anticonvulsant, Antipsychotic, (SSRI) Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, Antidepressant, Prozac, Zoloft, Wellbutrin, Atpypical also known as Zyprexa, abilify, Seroquel, Risperdal, Geodon. Mood stabilizing meds; Lithium, Depakote. All these different types of medication are meant to help bipolar disorder but they could also be used to help control other disorders.

Any mental illness can be terrible to live with if you don’t get the help you need. The human mind controls all behaviors and the way you think. So, having the feeling of unhappy, low energy, mixed of emotions and much more is something that a person shouldn’t go through daily. Bipolar disorder is a disorder that is long-term meaning it will always be dragging you emotional and physically down. There might not be an actual cure for this but the medication and treatment will be able to help you control the feelings you are having on a day to day that another person with-out a disorder would. Get the help you need and live your life to its fullest potential. Letting you live a more stable life.