The history of bipolar disorder dates back many centuries although it has only been in fairly recent times that the term ‘bipolar disorder’ has been used.

The documented history of bipolar disorder dates back as far as the time of ancient Greece, over 2000 years ago. Even then the extremes of mood – melancholia (depression) and mania were clearly identified – as remitting fluctuating illnesses.

It was Aretaeus of Cappadocia, a celebrated Greek physician, who first put forward that these extremes of mood were a part of the same illness, but it is not until much later that this view gained momentum.

In Paris during the 18th Century there were significant changes to how people with a mental illness were being cared for. With more compassionate treatment, the importance of observing and documenting illnesses was also emphasized, and the connection between mania and depression was again revived. This only occurred due to detailed clinical records that enabled some important
re-connections to be made.

In the 1850’s the French psychiatrist Jean-Pierre Falret noted bipolar disorder as a "folie circulaire" – highlighting the circular nature of bipolar disorder, with changes from mania to depression. "Folie" in French refers to mania, madness, craziness or insanity, with the literal translation being ‘circular insanity’.

Around the same time Jules Baillarger a French neurologist described these extreme mood changes as being merely different phases of the same illness "folli a double forme", translated as ‘dual-form insanity’.

The German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin in 1899 first used the term manic depressive illness to describe these phases. However, it wasn’t until much later that another German, Karl Kleist, in 1953 separated out unipolar depression where there are no periods of mania or hypomania, and the term bipolar disorder was born.

Today bipolar disorder is an acknowledged mental disease that can be treated and managed with medical supervision. Bipolar Disorder Assistance will present readers with a full  menu of topics for bi polar disorder: Basic biipolar information ,causes of bipolar disorder,bi polar diagnosis, bipolar condition,symptoms of bi polar,treating bipolar,bi polar dpression,better known as mainc depression disorder–and provide you with information on bipolar disorder help. 

For more articles on Bipolar Disorder and for an Online Bipolar Self Help Program visit MoodSwings.

By Sue Lauder Published: 8/22/2008

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Up-to-date authoritative information about Bipolar (Manic-Depressive) disorder, its diagnosis and treatment.

Bipolar disorder is not a single disorder, but a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated mood, clinically referred to as mania. Individuals who experience manic episodes also commonly experience depressive episodes or symptoms, or mixed episodes which present with features of both mania and depression. These episodes are normally separated by periods of normal mood, but in some patients, depression and mania may rapidly alternate, known as rapid cycling. The disorder has been subdivided into bipolar I, bipolar II and cyclothymia based on the the type and severity of mood episodes experienced.

Causes

Doctors and researchers don’t know exactly what causes bipolar disorder. But a variety of biologic, genetic and environmental factors seem to be involved in causing and triggering episodes of this illness.

Evidence indicates that differences in the chemical messengers between nerve cells in the brain (neurotransmitters) occur in people who have bipolar disorder. In many cases, people with a bipolar disorder may have a genetic disposition for the disorder.

Symptoms

In adults, mania is usually episodic with an elevation of mood and increased energy and activity. In children, mania is commonly chronic rather than episodic, and usually presents in mixed states with irritability, anxiety and depression. In adults and children, during depression there is lowering of mood and decreased energy and activity. During a mixed episode both mania and depression can occur on the same day.

How is bipolar disorder treated?

Bipolar disorder can be treated by your family doctor. Your family doctor may want you to see a psychiatrist too. You and your doctors will work together to control your mood swings and make sure you stay well.

Bipolar disorder is treated with medicines to stop the mood swings. Mood stabilizers are used to even out highs and lows in your mood. Antidepressant medicine can help reduce the symptoms of depression. Your doctor may add other medicines as you need them. These medicines don’t start to work right away, but you will start to notice a difference in your moods after a few weeks. Be sure to take your medicines just as your doctor tells you.

Typically, bipolar disorder is treated with more than one medication. This is due to the dual nature of bipolar disorder. Most patients need at least two medications: one to control depression and one to control mania. The combination of these two types of medication works to obtain balance in moods and stop mood cycling. Often, a third medication, called a mood stabilizer, is also prescribed. The most common mood stabilizer is Topomax.

Popular medications for treatment of mania in bipolar patients include lithium, valproate (Depakote), carbamazepine (Tegretol), olanzapine (Zyprexa), and ziprasidone (Geodon). Lithium has long been considered the miracle drug of bipolar disorder. It is a sodium based medication that helps to balance the chemical imbalance in the brain that causes manic episodes in bipolar patients.

Valproate, or Depakote, was originally developed as a seizure medication. However, its effects on bipolar patients who have rapid cycling bipolar (moods that cycle every few hours or days rather than weeks or months), it has been quite effective. Carbamazepine, or Tegretol, is another anti-seizure medication. While it appears to have similar effects on bipolar disorder as Depakote, it has not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as a bipolar disorder treatment.

Olanzapine, or Zyprexa, and Ziprasidone, or Geodon, are both anti-psychotic drugs, and are particularly effective for treatment of bipolar disorder in which mania becomes so severe that psychotic symptoms are present.

Published by Adult ADD Assistance

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 Bipolar disorder  is a type of mood disorder. Bi polar disorder was called manic depression in the past, and that term is still used by some people. It is a psychiatric illness that causes major disruptions in lifestyle and health. Everyone has occasional highs and lows in their moods. But people with bipolar disorder have extreme mood swings. They can go from feeling very sad, despairing, helpless, worthless, and hopeless (depression) to feeling as if they are on top of the world, hyperactive, creative, and grandiose (mania).

Bipolar symptoms include depression and feelings of hopelessness during the depressive phase of the condition. Other depressive symptoms include thoughts of suicide, alterations in sleep patterns, and loss of interest in activities that once were a source of pleasure. What differentiates bipolar disorder from major depression is the occurrence of manic episodes, often described as emotional "highs," between the episodes of depression.

Bipolar disorder results from disturbances in the areas of the brain that regulate mood. During manic periods, a person with bi polar disorder may be overly impulsive and energetic, with an exaggerated sense of self. The depressed phase brings overwhelming feelings of anxiety, low self-worth, and suicidal thoughts. There are two primary bipolar disorder types. People with bipolar disorder I have had at least one fully manic episode with periods of major depression. In the past, bipolar disorder I was called manic depression.

The average age at which the bipolar disease first appears is between adolescence and the midtwenties. Sometimes a correct diagnosis of the disorder is not made for years. It is complex and difficult to identify. In one study of bipolar disorder patients, half said that they saw three or more doctors before receiving a correct diagnosis. Over one third waited more than ten years before their condition was recognized.

People with bipolar disorder need various types of treatment and support to deal with it. They have to take an active role in understanding and coping with bipolar disorder. Nobody has discovered a cure for bipolar disorder, but we use medications to treat some of the symptoms. Many people who have bipolar disorder live full and productive lives. Yet, tragically, more than one in ten people with bipolar disorder try to commit suicide at some point. It is incredibly important for people with bipolar disorder to take their medication exactly as it was prescribed.

The fact is that bipolar people usually experience manic episodes as well as depressive episodes or symptoms, or mixed episodes which present with features of both mania and depression. They can also have normal mood periods in between these episodes. The DSM-IV-TR lists four types of mood disorders which fit into the bipolar categories: Bipolar I, Bipolar II, Cyclothymia, and Bipolar Disorder NOS (Not Otherwise Specified). Both men and women can have bipolar disorder. People of all ages can have it.

Additional Symptoms of Bipolar disorder

There are many symptoms associated with bipolar disorder. Some of the symptoms are:

sad mood, fatigue or loss of energy, insomnia, excessive sleeping, or shallow, inefficient sleep patterns with frequent awakenings, weight gain or loss, diminished ability to concentrate or make decisions, physical agitation or markedly sedentary behavior, feelings of guilt, pessimism, helplessness and low self-esteem, loss of interest or pleasure in life and thoughts of or attempts at suicide

Published by Bipolar Disorder Assistance

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