The average
Although bipolar disorder can occur at any age, typically it's diagnosed in the teenage years or early 20s.
The first onset of bipolar disorder symptoms (depression and mania) often surface when you are in your twenties, regardless of sex. However, research shows that the initial depressive episode in men tends to arise about 5 years earlier than in women. That's about 22 years old in men versus about 27 years old in women.
Grandiosity and overconfidence. Easy tearfulness, frequent sadness. Needing little sleep to feel rested. Uncharacteristic impulsive behavior.
The exact cause of bipolar disorder is unknown, although it's believed a number of things can trigger an episode. Extreme stress, overwhelming problems and life-changing events are thought to contribute, as well as genetic and chemical factors.
Bipolar disorder is frequently inherited, with genetic factors accounting for approximately 80% of the cause of the condition. Bipolar disorder is the most likely psychiatric disorder to be passed down from family. If one parent has bipolar disorder, there's a 10% chance that their child will develop the illness.
Other classic symptoms of bipolar disorder include: Depression—Periods of depression usually emerge in early adolescence and are present before an episode of mania occurs. Changes in conversation—Teens with bipolar disorder may talk fast and quickly switch from topic to topic during manic episodes.
So no, not everyone who has bipolar disorder knows they have it. There are lots of reasons why someone with bipolar disorder might not realize it—or why they might deny having it even if they do.
Beka is one of our bloggers and her husband, Ron, wrote this post for our couples series. Read Beka's accompanying post here. I read somewhere recently that the divorce rate when one marriage partner has bipolar disorder is 90%.
While bipolar disorder can't be cured, symptoms can be controlled with an effective treatment plan. Are you struggling with your mental health? Call us today to get help. Bipolar disorder may worsen with age or over time if the condition is left untreated.
Bipolar disorder can cause a lack of empathy, but symptoms may also make it more challenging to focus on the feelings of others. While there is no medication to improve empathy, treating bipolar disorder can help. Introspection, guided emotional learning, and observing emotions in others may also help build empathy.
Arguments with your spouse, chilly weather, grief — a number of scenarios may provoke bipolar mania or depression. Certain medications, seasonal changes, and alcohol could trigger bipolar mood episodes, experts say. Here's why. Bipolar disorder is characterized by unusual shifts in mood and energy.
To diagnose bipolar disorder, a doctor performs a physical exam, asks about your symptoms, and recommends blood testing to determine if another condition, such as hypothyroidism, is causing your symptoms. If the doctor does not find an underlying cause of your symptoms, he or she performs a psychological evaluation.
During a manic cycle of bipolar disorder, people with bipolar disorder may feel indefatigable, requiring little sleep and often forgoing food for days on end. Symptoms of mania may make a person feel they can do anything and cause them to engage in risk-taking behaviors entirely unlike their normal behaviors.
Because depression is often the first episode of bipolar disorder and early hypomanic episodes are often missed, the diagnosis of patients initially believed to have major depressive disorder may change to bipolar disorder.
Bipolar disorder can cause your mood to swing from an extreme high to an extreme low. Manic symptoms can include increased energy, excitement, impulsive behaviour, and agitation. Depressive symptoms can include lack of energy, feeling worthless, low self-esteem and suicidal thoughts.
Bipolar disorder often runs in families, and research suggests this is mostly explained by heredity—people with certain genes are more likely to develop bipolar disorder than others. Many genes are involved, and no one gene can cause the disorder.
The Bipolar Test: How It Works
The bipolar test, called Psynome, looks for two mutations in a gene, GRK3, associated with bipolar disorder.
What is Bipolar? Bipolar Disorder is a serious life long mental health condition which features pronounced mood swings. The condition was formerly known as manic depression. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that the condition affects 2.9% of Australians aged 16 and over, or 568,000 people.
A “bipolar meltdown” is, much like “bipolar anger,” a very stigmatizing phrase, and not something that really exists. The phrase “bipolar meltdown” could refer to a bipolar person having a manic episode or being in a depressed state.