World Bipolar Disorder Day

Since 2015, initiated by the World Bipolar Disorder Association and the International Bipolar Disorder Foundation, March 30th each year has been designated as World Bipolar Disorder Day.

What is bipolar disorder?

Bipolar disorder (Bi-Polar Disorde), also known as "manic depression", refers to a type of mood disorder with manic or manic episodes and depressive episodes. The patient's mood will alternate between mania, a high-energy state of elevated mood, irritability, and high energy, and a low-energy depressive state of low mood, slow thinking, and decreased volition and behavior.

What is mania?

Obviously abnormal and persistent mood most of the time that lasts for at least a week:

Elevated mood: excitement, euphoria, enthusiasm, optimism, and interest.

Irritability: impatient, irritable, prone to quarrels with others, including physical conflicts. For teenagers, it can also manifest as tantrums.

Energy: energetic and tireless.

During this period, there are at least 3 symptoms:

Inflated or exaggerated self-esteem: feeling good about yourself, overestimating your abilities, and doing things you are actually not capable of doing.

Reduced need for sleep: sleep less at night, but still feel full of energy; this is different from insomnia, which makes people sleepy during the day.

More talkative than usual: can chatter endlessly, speak faster, and talk ramblingly.

Running thoughts: The speed of thinking jumps and associations is accelerated, and it feels like the speed of speaking cannot keep up with the speed of thinking in the brain.

Inability to concentrate: Attention is not sustained and is easily attracted by other things.

Increased volitional behavior: increased activity, restlessness, and making unrealistic plans in study and work.

Reckless behavior: such as unbridled shopping, frivolous sexual behavior, and reckless investments.

If the manic episode affects work, study and life, or requires hospitalization or timely medical treatment.

During a mania episode, people act impulsively and without regard for the consequences, get angry easily, have delusions of self-aggrandizement, feel that they are very capable, speak quickly, and talk a lot. During a depression episode, there is a risk of suicide. Thoughts, self-blame, loss of interest, insomnia and early awakening, etc. Because of the large gap between states of bipolar disorder, the suicide rate of patients with bipolar disorder is higher than that of depression, and the suicide rate is 10 times that of normal people. Patients must use drug treatment to control their emotions at the beginning and ensure that the patient calms down when in a manic state. Psychotherapy cannot replace the role of drug treatment in the early stage. Even in the later stage of psychological treatment, regular medication is still required.

The cure rate for first-episode bipolar disorder is 100%, but it takes 5-10 years for most patients to be diagnosed. It can also be easily misdiagnosed as depression, and patients can easily ignore their hypomanic symptoms. , so careful observation by family members is particularly important. And what is particularly important is that bipolar disorder is a disease that is easy to relapse. Drug treatment must be continued. Generally speaking, patients with the first episode need to take drugs for 2-3 years. If they relapse, they need to take drugs for 5 years. If they relapse again, they need to take drugs. , often relapses, requiring long-term medication. Moreover, the recurrence rate is as high as 90%. The more recurrences, the more serious the damage to the brain. Maintenance treatment can reduce the frequency of recurrence. Learning to deal with one's own emotions is also one aspect of prevention. Usually such patients will develop unipolar depression and discover mania during treatment. If people around you have such tendencies, it is best to carefully observe and accompany the patient. Go to the hospital for treatment and objectively present the medical history (whether there is a family genetic history).

Clinical manifestations

1. Manic episode: Mainly characterized by elevated mood, which is not commensurate with the situation. It can range from happy to ecstatic. In some cases, it is only characterized by irritability. Lord. In mild cases, social functions are not impaired or only slightly impaired; in severe cases, hallucinations, delusions and other psychotic symptoms may occur.

The main clinical manifestations are:

① Inattention or shifting with the situation;

② Increased amount of speech;

③ Thinking The experience of running away (increased speech speed, urgent speech, etc.), accelerated associations, or wandering thoughts;

④ Self-evaluation is too high or exaggerated;

⑤ Energetic, not tired, Increased activity, difficulty in settling down, or constant changes in plans and activities;

⑥ Reckless behavior (such as profligacy, irresponsibility, or reckless behavior, etc.);

⑦ Reduced need for sleep ;

⑧Hypersexuality.

2. Depressive episode: Mainly characterized by a low mood, which is not commensurate with the situation. It can range from unhappy to grief-stricken, and even stupor. In severe cases, mental symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions may occur. Anxiety and motor agitation are prominent in some cases.

The main clinical manifestations are:

① Loss of interest and no sense of pleasure;

② Loss of energy or fatigue;

③ Spirituality Motor retardation or agitation;

④ Low self-evaluation, self-blame, or feeling of guilt;

⑤ Difficulty in association or decreased ability to consciously think;

⑥Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide or self-injury behavior;

⑦Sleep disorders, such as insomnia, early awakening, or excessive sleep;

⑧Reduced appetite or significant weight loss Reduced;

⑨ Loss of sexual desire.

3. Mixed episode: Manic symptoms and depressive symptoms can appear at the same time in one episode. They usually appear when mania and depression change rapidly. The duration is generally short, and most of them transition quickly. Mania or depression. In the current disease attack, both types of symptoms are prominent most of the time and should also be classified as mixed attacks.

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