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Bipolar Disorder

The phenomenon of bipolar affective disorder has been a mystery since the 16th century. Bipolar disorder or as the alternate names, manic depressive illness or affective bipolar disorder can be classified as a mood disorder characterized by mood swings from manis (exaggerated feeing of well-being) to depression. History has shown that this affliction can appear in almost anyone. Even the great painter Vincent Van Gogh is believed to have had bipolar disorder. It is clear that in our society many people live with bipolar disorder; however, despite the abundance of people suffering from the it, we are still waiting for definite explanations for the causes and cure. The one fact of which we are painfully aware is that bipolar disorder severely undermines its' victims ability to obtain and maintain social and occupational success. It is also believed that the lithium level is what causes these mood swings. Because bipolar disorder has such debilitating symptoms, it is imperative that we remain vigilant in the quest for explanations of its causes and treatment. A smorgasborg of symptoms that can be broken into manic and depressive episodes characterized by affective disorders.

The depressive episodes are characterized by intense feelings of sadness and despair that can become feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. Either the manic or the depressive episodes can predominate and produce few mood swings or the patters of mood swings my be cyclic. Some of the symptoms of a depressive episode include anhedonia, disturbances in sleep and appetite, psycomoter retardation, loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness, guilt, difficulty thinking, indecision, and recurrent thoughts of death and suicide (Hollandsworth, Jr. 1990 ). Some of the other symptoms that may occur in the depressive stage can be also fatigue that can last anywhere from weeks to months and a person may not be aware of why this is actually happening. Daytime sleepiness can also occur making...

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