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Bipolar Disorder: What Is It?

Posted in daily writings and musings of the psychologist, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 13, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Bipolar disorder, sometimes called manic depression, is a disorienting condition that causes extreme shifts in mood. Like riding a slow-motion roller coaster, patients may spend weeks feeling like they’re on top of the world before plunging into a relentless depression. The length of each high and low varies greatly from person to person. In any given year, bipolar disorder affects more than 2% of American adults.

Depressive Phase Symptoms: Without treatment, a person with bipolar disorder may experience intense episodes of depression. Symptoms include sadness, anxiety, and loss of energy, hopelessness, and difficulty concentrating. Patients may lose interest in activities that were once pleasurable. They may gain or lose weight, sleep too much or too little, and contemplate suicide.

Manic Phase Symptoms: During a manic phase, patients tend to feel euphoric and may believe they can accomplish anything. This can result in inflated self-esteem, agitation, and reduced need for sleep, being more talkative, being easily distracted, and a sense of racing thoughts. Reckless behaviors, including spending sprees, sexual indiscretions, fast driving, and substance abuse, are common. Having three or more of these symptoms nearly having three or more of these symptoms nearly every day for a week may indicate a manic episode.

Bipolar I vs. Bipolar II: People with bipolar I disorder have manic episodes or mixed episodes and often have one or more depressive episodes. People with bipolar II have major depressive episodes with less severe mania; they experience hypomania, a condition that is less intense than mania or lasting less than a week. Patients may seem like the “life of the party” — full of charm and humor. They may feel and function fine, even if family and friends can see the mood swing. However, hypomania can lead to mania or depression.

Mixed Episode: People with mixed episode experience depression and mania at the same time. This leads to unpredictable behavior, such as sadness while doing a favorite activity or feeling very energetic. It’s more common in people who develop bipolar disorder at a young age, particularly during adolescence. But some estimates suggest up to 70% of bipolar patients experience mixed episodes.

Causes of Bipolar Disorder: Doctors aren’t exactly sure what causes bipolar disorder. A leading theory is that brain chemicals fluctuate abnormally. When levels of certain chemicals become too high, the patient develops mania. When levels drop too low, depression may result.

Bipolar Disorder: Who’s at Risk? Bipolar disorder affects males and females equally. In most cases, the onset of symptoms is between 15 and 30 years old. People are at higher risk if a family member has been diagnosed, especially if it’s a first degree relative, but doctors don’t think the disorder kicks in based on genetics alone. A stressful event, drug abuse, or other unknown factor may trigger the cycle of ups and downs.

Bipolar Disorder and Daily Life: Bipolar disorder can disrupt your goals at work and at home. In one survey 88% of patients said the illness took a toll on their careers. The unpredictable mood swings can drive a wedge between patients and their co-workers or loved ones. In particular, the manic phase may scare off friends and family. People with bipolar disorder also have a higher risk of developing anxiety disorder

Bipolar Disorder and Substance Abuse: About 60% of people with bipolar disorder have trouble with drugs or alcohol. Patients may drink or abuse drugs to relieve the uncomfortable symptoms of their mood swings. This is especially common during the reckless manic phase.

Bipolar Disorder and Suicide

People with bipolar disorder are 10 to 20 times more likely to commit suicide than people without the illness. Warning signs include talking about suicide, putting affairs in order, and inviting death with risky behavior. Anyone who appears suicidal should be taken very seriously. Do not hesitate to call us at 09179383554 or the government helplines available free of charge in emergency situations.

Diagnosing Bipolar Disorder: A crucial step in diagnosing bipolar disorder is to rule out other possible causes of extreme mood swings. These may include brain infection or other neurological disorders, substance abuse, thyroid problem, HIV, ADHD, side effects of certain medications, or other psychiatric disorders. There is no lab test for bipolar disorder. A psychiatrist usually makes the diagnosis based on a careful history and evaluation of the patient’s mood and other symptoms.

Medications for Bipolar Disorder: Medications are key in helping people with bipolar disorder live stable, productive lives. Mood stabilizers can smooth out the cycle of ups and downs. Patients may also be prescribed antipsychotic drugs and anticonvulsant drugs. Between acute states of mania or depression, patients typically stay on maintenance medication to avoid a relapse.

Talk Therapy for Bipolar Disorder: Talk therapy can help patients stay on medication and cope with their disorder’s impact on work and family life. Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on changing thoughts and behaviors that accompany mood swings. Interpersonal therapy aims to ease the strain bipolar disorder may place on personal relationships. Social rhythm therapy helps patients develop and maintain daily routines.

Lifestyle Tips for Bipolar Disorder: Establishing firm routines can help manage bipolar disorder. Routines should include sufficient sleep, regular meals, and exercise. Because alcohol and recreational drugs can worsen the symptoms, these should be avoided. Patients should also learn to identify their personal early warning signs of mania and depression. This will allow them to get help before an episode spins out of control.

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT): Electroconvulsive therapy can help some people with bipolar disorder. ECT uses an electric current to cause a seizure in the brain. It is one of the fastest ways to ease severe symptoms. ECT is usually a last resort when a patient does not improve with medication or psychotherapy.

Educating Friends and Family:Friends and family may not understand bipolar disorder at first. They may become frustrated with the depressive episodes and frightened by the manic states. If patients make the effort to explain the illness and how it affects them, loved ones may become more compassionate. Having a solid support system can help people with bipolar disorder feel less isolated and more motivated to manage their condition.

When Someone Needs Help: Many people with bipolar disorder don’t realize they have a problem or avoid getting help. If you’re concerned about a friend or family member, here are a few tips for broaching the subject. Point out that millions have bipolar disorder, and that it is a treatable illness — not a personality flaw. There is a medical explanation for the extreme mood swings, and effective treatments are available.

Courtesy : http://www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/ss/slideshow-bipolar-disorder-overview

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Dealing with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Posted in daily writings and musings of the psychologist, tagged , , , , on September 6, 2011| 2 Comments »

“She sleeps early  in the evening and gets up around midnight  . She is compulsively obsessed with the thought of cleaning her entire house every night . She will wake up her kids and husband , disturb  them    from their sound sleep and carry out with her task of washing and sleeping irrespective of the fact that her  act causes distract and distraught to her family members”.

“This man is always anxious that   he has not been able to  achieve any thing in  his life and hence the very thought disturbs him leading him to weeping anxiety about himself. He often gets up in the middle of the night thinking some thing will happen to his family and hence  double checks that every thing  is in order”  .

” She knows that she is in love with him but she is obsessed with the thought that  he does not match up to  her good looks and family standards , hence she loses her   peace of mind and gets up  in the middle of-the night worrying  about the opinion of family and friends”.

Every individual has a sense of anxiety and mistrust inbuilt within the personality. It is many a times noticed that people  occasionally have to go back and double-check that  the gas stove has been put off, car doors have been locked , a tap has been closed or a  fan has been switched off .  There is nothing to worry if it is done as a gesture of ensuring safety.   But for    some of those   people who suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), the degree of their obsessive feelings and repetitive compulsive behavior become very dominating and extreme. Their thoughts and the desire to perform same tasks repeatedly and obsessively interfere with their daily routine making it difficult to lead a normal family life.

The person, who suffers from the obsessive-compulsive disorder, may feel isolated, helpless, anxious and irritated and feel compelled to perform the same rituals, tasks and actions over and over again. His or her  anxiety may lead to many kinds of personality disorders, depression and a sense of inadequacy. Such obsessive disorder may need psychological, psychiatric and clinical help depending upon the intensity of OCD.   The first help is always obtained by understanding as to what  is obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)?

 Understanding Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder:  (OCD) is a form of an anxiety disorder. It gets expressed in individual sufferers   by way of uncontrollable, unwanted thoughts appearing in their minds repetitively and accompanied by their ritualized behaviors; the individual may feel compelled to perform. The person having OCD, may recognize the fact his or her obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors are absurd. But even so, the sufferer is unable to resist them and break free.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) becomes the cause of the brain getting engaged time and again on a particular thought or urge. For example, the person may  wash hands  repeatedly  until the hands get hurt , or may go back to car garage time and again to check that the car doors have been locked , may bite the nails so much that the fingers turn red and bloodied , may  rub hands in despair and even may  sweep floors , wash the dirt of the furniture repeatedly.

How to spot OCD

People with OCD normally have unreasonable fears (called obsessions) which they try to reduce by performing certain behaviours (called compulsions).

OCD is thought to affect around 2.3% of people at some point in their lives.

Most people develop symptoms before they are twenty-years-old.

Perhaps the most familiar example is people repeatedly washing their hands (a compulsion) to avoid getting a disease (an obsession).

That said, though, some people are considered to have OCD despite ‘only’ having obsessions or ‘only’ having compulsions.

Around 70% have both obsessions and compulsions, 20% just obsessions and 10% compulsions alone.

As with most psychological problems, OCD involves normal fears which are taken to extreme.

It’s perfectly normal to be worried about disease, but extremely inconvenient to wash your hands 300 times a day.

Both obsessions and compulsions are a matter of degree.

Once it’s causing problems in everyday life, it needs addressing.

Here are some common obsession:

  1. Need for orderliness and symmetry.
  2. Fear of dirt or contamination by germs.
  3. Excessive doubt.
  4. Fear of sinful or evil thoughts.
  5. Fear of making a mistake.
  6. Fear of harming another person.
  7. Thinking about acting inappropriately or shouting obscenities.

Here are some typical compulsions:

  1. Getting mentally ‘stuck’ on certain images or thoughts that won’t go away.
  2. Repeated hand-washing, showering or bathing.
  3. Repeating particular words or phrases.
  4. Always arranging things in a certain way.
  5. Constant counting during routine tasks, whether mentally or out loud.
  6. Performing tasks a certain number of times.
  7. Always checking things like locks or ovens.
  8. Collecting or hoarding things with no value.

Most people are fully aware that their thoughts and/or behaviours are unreasonable, some are not.

Stress normally makes the symptoms of OCD worse.

Around one-third of people with OCD also make repeated sudden movements or sounds.

These are called ‘tics’.

It’s not known exactly what causes OCD, but it’s likely a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

In other words: it runs in the family and it’s likely brought on by stress.

Typically, people are treated with medication and cognitive-behavioural therapy.

There’s some question over whether medication really helps much.

Psychological therapies, though, are usually helpful.

Therapy often involves learning to tolerate anxiety without performing the ritualised behaviour.

While most people are not cured, the majority can learn to manage the symptoms and live a normal life.

After treatment, most people see a substantial reduction in their symptoms.

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Premarital Counseling – a future Relationship Therapy

Posted in The psychology counselling services available, tagged , , on June 9, 2011| 1 Comment »

Pre-Marital Counseling:  the decision to get married is a very happy moment but at the same time individuals (irrespective of the fact whether they are male or female) get very apprehensive of sharing their freedom, space, individuality and even responsibility of handing over the managing of their lives to someone else.  Falling in love and getting engaged to someone you have fancied as life partner is very fascinating.  The post engagement is a thrilling and a very delightful time. It is a time when dating, dreaming and fanciful planning takes place between the couples. Most of the couples come close and become emotionally fond of   each other. The physicality of intimacy, close proximity and the idea of having fallen in love are very intoxicating.  This period is the time to know each other and thereby cementing ties for a happy life long relationship. The couples in addition to falling in love should preferably take out some time together to get a positive premarital counseling.  Such a premarital counseling will help the couples uncover and resolve many issues that could become too late after having been married.

Let us see what the premarital counseling means to newly engaged couple:

Premarital Counseling – future a Relationship Therapy: As blissful couples go through their engagement, looking at their    own ring and adoring the engagement. They get busy preparing their wedding trousseau   , finalizing   wedding plans.  There are enough people to take care of the details of the accessories.  The couple should take out some time for the most important thing of all – their relationship at present and their relationship that is being built up through the sacred marriage.  In earlier times of joint family systems, an older sister, sister in law, other seniors in the family like a grandmother, or an older aunt, some close family friend took over the counseling of the bride to be or the groom to be.  But the independent single family system has deprived such a privilege to modern couples.     Social thinkers and family psychologists recommend that each couple who has opted to get married and tie the knot should go through at least one session of premarital counseling. Couples may have specific needs in premarital counseling and therapy, such as following particular religious faith and culture, maintaining traditions of their family issues and the questions of sharing their personal world, privacy or possessions with another person and likewise, so  there could be many questions lurking about the future life.

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