Living with bipolar disorder has its complexities, but it is possible to adapt. What is needed? Advice from an expert to understand this condition a little more.
This disorder, which has a prevalence of 2 to 3% in people worldwide, according to a study by The Lancet (2017), is not as simple as many may imagine. Both the person in whom this condition develops, and the people around them, must have a basic understanding to cope with crisis episodes.
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What should a person who has bipolar disorder keep in mind?
- Understand what your disorder is not and so, Any individual is much more than a diagnosis. A diagnosis helps to understand, to give it a name, to achieve a clearer and deeper recognition, but it does not turn the person into that diagnosis.
- Be very aware of your own care. If the person You know that there are situations that are triggers, the best you can do is not expose yourself. and, in that sense, it is completely relevant to carry out those introspection processes in which, in a very honest way, one is clear about which situations are favorable and which are not, to handle it when necessary.
- Knowing that you have the capacity for many things. I insist, the person is not a diagnosis, it is not bipolar disorder, it is a person with a mental health condition and, in that sense, You have to seek to develop life like any other person would. You should not stop doing certain things that are part of any individual’s daily life because you have bipolar disorder.
- It is always important to have good supportknowing that you can do many things alone, but that there are times when you need to raise your hand and ask for support from a professional, and that is also okay, like any health condition.
Is bipolar disorder a degenerative disease?
Bipolar disorder can be something that accompanies the person for many years, it is a chronic mental health condition and, in that sense, an awareness regarding care must be generated. If a person develops heart disease or a heart disease, they constantly seek the support of a cardiologist for check-ups, examinations and other medical processes, the same thing happens with a chronic mental health condition, it will require . It is necessary, useful and will not make the person better or worse compared to others.
Can bipolar disorder stem from another disorder and vice versa?
It cannot precisely be derived, but the specialist can think, Initially, it is another disorder due to the fact that it includes two separate conditions that can be diagnosed in themselves: depression or mania, if it is not evident that there is a cycle in which the person changes from one state to the other. This also varies depending on the experience of the specialist and the sincerity of the person, in case professional help is sought at times other than the episodes.
If the person comes to my office, for example, in a very strong depressive state and I do not make an adequate evaluation and do not notice that there are also other small signs that indicate the possibility of hypomanic episodes at another time, I can only stay with the diagnosis of depression and, in that case, with the strategies and tools for adequate management.
If so, I am not taking into account the other part of the disorder and the same could happen in the opposite direction. So, That is why it is so important to see a professional on time and for the professional to do a very careful and detailed evaluation.not only of the present moment, but of the general history of the person to identify exactly what condition they have and what is the best management that can be given.
Can a person have both types of bipolar disorder?
The person may suddenly begin to have a hypomanic episode and it may initially be considered a but then present a manic episode and, in that case, the diagnosis must be adjusted.