A depressive episode is a classic bipolar symptom of bipolar disorder. It is characterized by decreased interest and pleasure in daily life and activities and it must last for at least two weeks’ duration. This episode must be a mood that is different from the individual’s standard mood or routine. It is important to note that this bipolar symptom must also negatively impact the individual’s social or occupational functioning and day to day life. It is also shown through depressing emotions or moods throughout most of the day and almost every day that is reported as a “feeling sad” or “empty” feeling. Observations by others are important to note here as well.
The person will probably have lost weight without trying to and there will be a noted difference in appetite almost every day. Sleeplessness, extreme fatigue and loss of energy, gross motor skill agitation, as well as a decreased ability to think almost every day, are classic bipolar symptoms. In extreme cases, a symptom would also be thoughts of death or suicide attempts or plans that occur regularly.
A depressive episode is a classic bipolar symptom of bipolar disorder. It is characterized by decreased interest and pleasure in daily life and activities and it must last for at least two weeks’ duration. This episode must be a mood that is different from the individual’s standard mood or routine. It is important to note that this bipolar symptom must also negatively impact the individual’s social or occupational functioning and day to day life. It is also shown through depressing emotions or moods throughout most of the day and almost every day that is reported as a “feeling sad” or “empty” feeling. Observations by others are important to note here as well. The person will probably have lost weight without trying to and there will be a noted difference in appetite almost every day. Sleeplessness, extreme fatigue and loss of energy, gross motor skill agitation, as well as a decreased ability to think almost every day, are classic bipolar symptoms. In extreme cases, a symptom would also be thoughts of death or suicide attempts or plans that occur regularly.
A manic episode is clinically defined by a period of elevated mood, usually irritability, for at least a week in length. Again, the bipolar symptoms must be severe enough to cause negative impacts in social or work situations. Unfortunately, substance abuse is common among those with bipolar disorder, so the bipolar symptoms can not be the result of this, or by an underlying health condition that is unrelated. Other bipolar symptoms for the manic episodes include exaggerated self-esteem, less sleep required (as little as 3 hours), increased talkative, making comments or observations that their thoughts are racing, a noticeable increase in goal-oriented plans, and an increased involvement in tasks or activities that have a good likelihood for negative or painful outcomes. An example of this would be overspending or sexual promiscuity.
A mixed episode, on the other hand, requires that it meets the bipolar symptoms of both a manic and depressive episodes every day for about a week’s length in time. Again, the disturbance must be harsh enough to cause impairment in social and work situations and daily life functioning. Also important to note that bipolar symptoms even in a mixed episode can very frequently be confused with the effects of substance abuse or health conditions.
A hypomanic episode is characterized by elevated mood patterns for about 4 days. During these four days, at least three other of the following bipolar symptoms must be present: increased self-esteem, sleeping less (3 hours approximately), talkativeness, racing thoughts, easily distracted, and a noted increase in activities that would be considered to have a high probability of negative consequences. Again, the mood disturbances will more than likely be noticed by others around the individual. Hypomanic episodes do not have bipolar symptoms that impact day to day or social functioning.
Bipolar Treatment
Lithium seems to be the gold standard when it comes to bipolar treatment. It is generally the first treatment of choice and has been approved by the FDA for mania treatment since 1970. At this point, it is a very effective mood stabilizer for bipolar treatment. Lithium is effective in preventing the cycling effect that occurs between manic and depressive episodes and this bipolar treatment is generally maintained with the patient for long periods. The unfortunate effect of lithium treatment, however, is that it acts as a mood suppressant. Thus many patients begin to miss the excess energy that is associated with their manic and hypomanic attacks. This results in compliance issues with taking the medication.
Anticonvulsant medications are also a common drug of choice for bipolar treatment, and these include valproate and carbamazepine. Often these are used as a lithium alternative as opposed to being used in conjunction with lithium. FDA approval has been obtained for valproate since 1995. Other anticonvulsants for bipolar treatment include lamotrigine, gabapentin, and topiramate and these are all utilized as mood stabilizers. Current research is suggesting that combinations of lithium and any of these anticonvulsants may be a useful bipolar treatment.
Depressive episodes in bipolar disorder are often offered antidepressant medication for bipolar treatment that comes in conjunction with the lithium treatment. It is not unusual for lithium and anticonvulsants for mood stabilization to be prescribed with an antidepressant. Again, the purpose of this would be to prevent cycling between mania and depression. Currently, the antidepressants of choice for bipolar treatment are tricyclic antidepressants such as Tofranil. Unfortunately, antidepressants generally require at least a few weeks to take effect. Patients also tend to discontinue the use of drugs when they start to feel better. This results in relapse because the underlying depressive episodes are still present and are only suppressed by the medication. Because of this and because depressive episodes tend to be a recurrent disorder the trend for bipolar treatment now is to continue patients on the medication course for a very long time to prevent a recurrence.
Overall, when properly prescribed and monitored, medication use in bipolar treatment is very effective in terms of not only assistance to cope with the life long disorder, but this bipolar treatment program is effective in prevention as far as recurrent episodes are concerned.