Diagnosis and Treatment of Bipolar Disorder

Diagnosis and Treatment of Bipolar Disorder

Ruby Morgan

Axia University of Phoenix

BEH225

Instructor: Reva Shrivastava

November 15, 2009

Diagnosis and Treatment of Bipolar Disorder

Is bipolar disorder different from normal mood swings? Most people will experience many emotions from happiness to deep grief but the majority of people will return to normal moods in a timely manner. Individuals with bipolar disorder the mood goes from one extreme called mania to another called depression without the normal mood transitions although there may be periods of normal mood (Morris and Maisto, 2002). Following is a look at bipolar disorder, how it is diagnosed, treatment options, and prognosis.

Symptoms of Bipolar

According to Mayo Clinic (2008), bipolar is exhibited by an alternating of emotional highs and lows with the magnitude of the signs changing form mild to severe with periods of normal mood intervening at times. The two stages of bipolar exhibit different symptoms, the following chart lists a number of symptoms of the manic and the depressive stages (Mayo Clinic, 2008).

|Mania Symptoms |Depressive Symptoms |

|Extreme optimism |Sadness |

|Poor judgment |Guilt |

|Racing thoughts |Thoughts of suicide |

|Insomnia |Lack of interest in daily activities |

|Increased sexual drive |Tiredness |

|Agitation |Chronic pain without a known cause |

|Risky behavior |Being easily irritated |

|Difficulty concentrating |Hopelessness |

|Euphoria |Anxiety |

There are...