That regular depression, anxiety, and irritability is a red light for the existence of a bipolar disorder.
Bipolar disorder is a brain disorder that causes abnormal shifts in thought, mood, energy, and behaviour. The mood swings can last for hours, days, weeks, or months. It is also known as manic depression, meaning it alternates between mania (highs) and depression (lows). It is neither a defect in character nor a sign of personal weakness.
This disorder is common in adults and usually sets in during late adolescence disguised as depression during teenage years. In some people, it may begin early in childhood years or at a more ripened age. This condition affects people across ages, races, ethnic groups, and social classes with prolonged manifestation causing anxiety disorders. Below are the main signs to look out for to verify the presence of bipolar disorder.
1. Anxiety
Most patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder have a coexisting anxiety disorder. Panic disorder, separation anxiety, compulsive disorders are some other examples of anxiety that may be evident in patients living with bipolar. Other people with social phobia tend to appear anti-social or psychic.
A person with anxiety usually feels like their body cells are under constant vibration or their organs pulling out from under the skin. They can’t seem to find a comfortable sitting, sleeping, standing or resting position. When they are anxious, they have difficulty working, sitting or even enjoying a movie. They can end up repeating an activity over and over since everything feels wrong.
2. Depression
Depression is characterised by an intensely low mood coupled with long periods of sadness. They don’t enjoy life and activities that other people find pleasurable. Other symptoms include feeling upset or tearful, lacking concentration at work, feeling demotivated and sluggish, not having enough sleep, feeling guilty or worthless, loss of appetite or eating too much, having suicidal thoughts, being irritable, agitated or tense plus many other signs of depression.
The sharp contrast which exists between mania, hypomania, and depression makes the episodes of depression even harder to cope with. If treatment is not provided in good time, episodes of depression can persist longer than those of mania.
3. Irritation
People with bipolar disorder often feel irritated by certain things and events. They magnify the dirt of the world against its beauty. Constantly, they sustain negative and judgmental thoughts, often trying to bring themselves or others down. Irritation can cause panic attacks, almost feeling like you are waking from a nightmare. Some patients with bipolar disorder tend to be talkative and insensitive, not caring what others say or think.
Irritability can make a person with this condition to overreact in a harmless situation. These people will snap easily, have intense debates, or even yell at nothing. Consequently, bipolar patients have a hard time getting along with others since they are a little disadvantaged in relationship-building.
Bottom Line
Medical physicians recount that most people who have regular episodes of depression, anxiety, and are irritable, turn out to be having bipolar disorder. A clear understanding of these telling signs will further assist experts to know how to respond and support patients.
Where these three signs surface, a careful examination should be done to ascertain whether is bipolar disorder.
