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Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depression, is a disorder of the brain marked by extreme mood swings, rise or fall in activity levels, and erratic behavioral changes. Most children with this disorder will go from a nearly euphoric high mood (manic) to a deeply depressed pessimistic and sometimes even suicidal mood (Depressive).
Children have a rougher time dealing with this disorder because they don't understand why they feel the way they do. Sometimes before they are diagnosed, the child may be labeled in school as a troublemaker or the child is so withdrawn that they have lost interest in school activities, and have failed to make friends. With Bipolar disorder, understanding what the child is going through is the most important key to treatment. Bipolar is a serious condition, and although there is no cure, it's treatable with medication.
Symptoms can start showing up as early as infancy. Bipolar disorder is different in children than it is in adults. Children usually have continuous mood swings that will go back and forth from mania to depression. These quickly changing moods produce chronic irritability. There may be times where the child will seem normal and display no mood swings or any other symptoms of Bipolar at all, only to have the symptoms come back at another time.
Some of the symptoms of bipolar disorder are:
Hyperactivity,
Easily distracted
Sleep deprivation or sleeping too much
Bed-wetting
Irritable mood
Depression
Mood swings lasting a few hours up to a few days
Explosive rages
Separation anxiety
Inappropriate sexual behavior
Defiance
Night terrors
Impulsive behavior
Reckless behavior
Cravings for carbohydrates
Hallucinations
Delusions of grandeur
In adolescents the symptoms of Bipolar become more like those of an adult. The symptoms in a teen are:
Changes in mood
Racing thoughts
Behavioral changes
Change in sleep patterns
Treatment for Bipolar usually consists of both medication and psychotherapy. After diagnosis a psychiatrist will usually prescribe anti-depressants, anti-psychotics and then treat the patient with therapy. Most children and teens respond well to therapy and lead normal lives keeping their symptoms under control. Parents will need to help the child deal with the potential weight gain a child may experience as a side effect from the medications. Feeding the child a proper diet and making sure the child gets enough exercise is important to prevent obesity.
Bipolar disorder can quickly become a life-threatening situation because the depression can get so bad that the adolescent feels hopeless and tries to end their life. When this happens, a parent needs to take immediate action to prevent the adolescent from taking his or her own life. In more extreme cases hospitalization may be required. If outpatient therapy isn't working or if the patient becomes so suicidal and hopeless, or becomes so manic that they pose a risk to themselves or others, inpatient treatment may be required to protect the adolescent.
Electroconvulsive Therapy is sometimes used to treat extreme cases. This is for patients that may not be able to take medications due to a pregnancy or if they are in a manic delirious or catatonic state.
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