Video: bipolar disorder

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Bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder, formerly known as manic depression, is a condition that affects your moods. An expert talks about symptoms and diagnosis, and explains the different treatments that are available.

Last reviewed: 10/01/2012

Next review due: 10/01/2014

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5 Comments about ‘Video: bipolar disorder’

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missyx said on 15 May 2012

Hello everyone i have come to this site seeking advice as i am unsure at the moment. At present i go to Cbt once a week to treat my ocd's/anxiety/stress/deppresion. I have always been a sort of hyperactive person who can talk for the world but, i never thought or felt i had problems with it until i grew older. My counciler at Cbt wants me to get assessed for bipolar i thought i would ask advice here first. I am a busy person, i think my brain finds it hard to shut off at times and when i get in my "Motivated moods" i dont stop, i thrive of the energy i feel and can have 3jobs on the go at once and dont stop until i drop but, on the other hand i will then get my low moods which leave me feeling really low and lathargic were all i want to do his hide away. The low moods leave me feeling so unmotivated that once my motivated mood comes on again i think i go to the extreme of trying to do everything. I am a chatterbox too, my mum always says " stop for a breath" but, i have only just started to notice just how much i can talk and just by talking i tire myself out mentally. I just want a even balance of energys instead of from one extreme to the other and for my brain to just relax. Any advice is welcome and i thankyou for your time. Thankyou.

ger1 said on 29 June 2010

I have recently been diagnosed with Bipolar disorder, for years doctors were treating me for normal stress and depression, even work related stress, they gave me anti-depressants etc. I lost friends and my job because other people didn't want to be around me, I could not get one normal doctor to understand this. I felt like I was going insane, one day elated another crying my eyes out, it ended late last year when I got suicidal, then I was finally referred to a Mental Health hospital with proper Psychiatrists that understood, they have put me on Decent medication now and though my episodes have not completely gone they are more manageable, I am still on a waiting list for Psychotherapy

I only wanted to say this to reassure other people that they are not alone, you are not going insane and help is out there and you will get better. Sometimes you need to pressure your doctor/GP to make them realise that it is not ordinary stress and depression, they are not trained in psychiatry and it is easy for them to misdiagnose your condition.

Sherlin said on 18 June 2010

When i was staying in hostel, one of my friend would walk down the streets. We carried her to the student health center. The staff originally thought she was on drugs, but she wasn't. She had to control herself anyhow. Her parents came in the middle of the night to get her and she was hospitalized on the locked ward for 4 months. She was treated with Thorazine and painted pictures and she went to basket weaving. She always wanted to do that. After she was released, she threw away all her medication. She felt she didn't need it and returned to college. Her grades improved after that. To know more about Bipolar Disorder visit:

http://www.simplehealthguide.com/bipolar-disorder-2

wildheart said on 23 August 2009

I have a partner who suffers from Bipolar, and it is definately more than just mood swings. It may start off as mood swings but a full blown episode or relapse, is more than just mood swings. Their whole way of thinking changes, everything is gets distorted to the point where it can ruin a relationship. I find there is not enough information on Bipolar in it's extreme. It's a devastating and distructive illness, and not enough of this information is published. The partner/carer of a person with bipolar go through hell and there is definately no support to those who love people with bipolar. More needs to be done in the way of therapy for the patient and their partner. The biggest problem a carer faces is that people with bipolar during an episode have their thoughts taken over by bipolar and because the law states that their word must be listened to, when they are in a bipolar episode, and they are not themselves, there is so much damaged caused. They dont know what they are saying or doing when very ill, because the bipolar has control not your partner, when they are well there is always a mess to clean up because the Drs etc listen to what they're saying but it's the bipolar not your partner/relative's thoughts. That is my experiance of it in 6 years being with my partner. The system lets you down.

RCMA said on 05 March 2009

I can confirm recovery is possible. I have been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder in remission. I am no longer on medication and have been fully discharged. I do not fear relapse. The biomedical model in this incident did not work for me, risperadol, and diazapan didn't help the social factors emotional stress and tension that caused my breakdown. I am not a machine. I am a human being, and so a mix of the biomedical approach and humanistic approach is needed for a full recovery for everyone, for anything i believe. More money into complimentary therapies :)