Essay On Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a type of psychological disorder that could affect individuals of all ages. This particular disorder is evident if one’s extreme mood, good or bad, lasts about a week or two. This abnormal behavior of an individual are not usually understood even by individuals that are related to him or her. In this light, it is therefore important to inform the public about the bipolar disorder especially handling those affected.
Men and women can be equally affected by this disorder and it often appears to the age range of 17 to 21 (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 2012). But, being with a close friend or relative increases the risk of developing this. Moreover, the disorder may appear during pregnancy, too. There are three states of bipolarity – the high, the low, and the well states. The high state is called mania, while the low state is called depression. The well state is the point at which the person feels satisfactory and is overall okay (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 2012).
The states don’t follow a pattern and individual experiences could be different from others. Some people only go through one state while some experience at least one. These attacks are called episodes (bipolar episodes). The duration and the frequency to which the episodes occur differ from one person to another. People who experience mania, or the high state, feel irritated or angry unusually lasting at least a week, the symptoms of being all-powerful, having a lot of energy, willing to do risky activities, excessive happiness, easily distracted, increased energy, racing thoughts, and having hallucinations or delusions (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 2012). Hypomania, a minor form of mania to which the person feels the same symptoms but not having hallucinations and the feeling of all-powerful, are also apparent to those with bipolar disorder. Being in the manic state, one may take risky measures like affairs that can harm marriages and relationships, or being distracted to be productive in work that may result in losing the job.
In order to properly handle a person in this state, the people around him or her need to be calm. Reducing the activity and the people around the person, such as keeping the noise into a minimum and the conversations brief like dealing with immediate issues only, are found to be helpful.
On the other hand, depression is the feeling of being down for more than a week. People in this state experience weight loss or gain, agitation, loss of energy, having difficulty in concentrating or making decisions, sleeping too much or too little, feeling worthless or feeling nothing at all, thoughts about suicide, and having hallucinations or delusions (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 2012). Because of lack of attention, the person’s relationships and work are affected. Taking measures in this state can be quite tricky and difficult because the person tends to isolate him or herself. Thus, it is advised that one should talk to the person affected in a calm voice, and take time in focusing a single thing. Medical help is necessary for those with suicidal tendencies.
People can be very much affected by the way they were brought up to the way they see the world. Of course, the environment plays a major part in shaping the minds and character of a person. Being born in a stressful surrounding can pretty much affect the person’s mental health. Age also plays a role since most of the people who experience bipolar disorder are in their developing years. In the college level, the mania can be triggered by the risky activities they make you do such as in pledging a fraternity or sorority. Depression can be triggered by the failures that come during the exam period.
Bipolar discrimination can be seen in the workplace and in school. Employment maybe jeopardized if the employer doesn’t know a thing about the disorder and assumes that the person who has this cannot perform well like the others (Weinberger, 2015). In school, students may tend to not understand the behaviors of the person with this disorder and may be reluctant in being friends with the person and he or she may be subjected to bullying for being different. But this should not continue. A person with bipolar disorder should not be discriminated; instead, they should be understood in order to help them overcome the sickness they have.

References

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. (2012, October 25). “Bipolar Disorder.” Retrieved from http://www.camhx.ca/education/online_courses_webinars/mha101/index.html
Weinberger, J. (2015). “Bipolar/Manic Depression Disability Discrimination.” Law Offices of Jonathan Weinberger. Retrieved from http://www.employmentclaims.com/lawyer-attorney-2104199.html