Are medications necessary? What do they do in the brain?
Who is at risk for bipolar disorder?
Those people who have a genetic and biological predisposition They are more prone, adding to it, if there are environmental and social conditions that help it develop. Now, it is not a guarantee and it does not mean that if I, for example, have the predisposition I will necessarily develop this condition. It is a mixture of different factors.
We invite you to read:
How is bipolar disorder diagnosed?
The most important thing is to be clear that any diagnosis must be made by a professional, may be a psychiatrist or a psychologist, who are specialists who have received appropriate training in mental health. Also that a diagnosis is not simply making a checklist.
To achieve an effective diagnosis it is important to have a very complete evaluation which has different elements:
- An interview with the professional.
- To the extent possible, an interview with the person’s relatives so that they, from their point of view, can tell us as professionals what some of the conducts and behaviors that the person usually has.
There are diagnostic evaluations that are a little more focused on the person answering ‘x’ questions and, from that, a profile is generated. After collecting all this information, it is possible to say whether or not you meet the characteristics and criteria that define a person with bipolar disorder.but it is very important to keep in mind that it is not simply that the specialist sees the person and can say whether or not it is necessary to make the diagnosis.
We invite you to know the testimony of two Colombians who live with this condition:
What is the treatment like?
For For a person with bipolar disorder, treatment is key to achieving adequate functioning in society.is made up of two treatments, both equally important.
On the one hand, the psychiatric support to be able to provide appropriate medications. There are some medications that are specifically developed for the management of bipolarity because They allow neurochemicals to be supplied in the brainthat is to say, those substances that help regulate emotional responses and behavioral responses thatsometimes, They are a little altered in a person with this condition.
On the other hand, it is important to have therapeutic support. Because? There are very typical signs that tell us when the person is going to enter an episode of the disorder. So, it is important that the person start to get to know yourself and let your immediate surroundings also know youto identify these signs and be able to provide timely attention, so as to avoid reaching the breaking point and triggering a manic or depressive crisis scenario.
It is very important that, if possible, the person’s context is included in this treatment., that is, your closest relatives, your partner, those people who are very important. The ideal is that they understand very well what the disorder is about, that they really know what the person has and what they can do as a support network.
The ideal treatment includes psychiatry support, a judicious psychotherapeutic process with a lot of commitment from the consultant and support from the family so that it is as complete and positive as possible.
In the treatment There is an aspiration on the part of the specialist that the person with bipolar disorder do not have such drastic or violent fluctuations, so to speak, between the two states of mind: the depressive and the manic; but that he manages to maintain himself in a state of rest, in which he can be and behave in the same way as any other individual.
When to consult with the specialist?
In general, not only for bipolar disorder, but For any mental health condition, it is very important to consult with a specialist the moment we begin to feel that our daily lives are being affected.For example, a change in sleeping patterns is associated with many mental health problems, if the person stops sleeping or begins to sleep very few hours a day or, on the contrary, if the person begins to sleep more than necessary and the only thing What he wants is to sleep, it is a very important warning sign.
Also when you begin to see that your social relationships are affected in all areas, when behavior patterns change, such as eating, when there is irritability, arguments and other problems at work. All these are small signs, they do not guarantee that it is a bipolar disorder, but they do indicate that there is something in mental health that is not so good and that it is worth checking what is happening, providing support and providing tools to manage it. .