What Are the Causes of Mental Illness?

By Randall McGee

The exact cause of most mental illnesses is unknown, but there are many known factors at play. These can be biological, psychological or environmental. The cause varies from person to person and it can be complicated. For most people who suffer from mental illnesses, the cause is some combination of these factors.
Genetic Factors
Most mental illnesses run in families. Twin studies have shown that there is a definite genetic factor. While your family history doesn't necessarily cause you to have the illness as well, it does put you at greater risk for developing it. In the case of schizophrenia, for example, people with close relatives that have the disorder are ten times more likely to develop it themselves. Chronic depression and bipolar disorder are similar.
Chemical Imbalance
Neurotransmitters are chemicals in the brain through which the brain communicates with the nerves. When these chemicals are not working properly, the brain doesn't function regularly and this abnormal functioning leads to mental illness. This is why medications are used to treat symptoms. They restore normal brain functioning.
Early Development
Neglect or abuse in early life can lead to serious mental problems in adulthood. Severe emotional, physical and sexual abuse can all be contributing factors. The loss of a parent or any other traumatic event can lead to lifelong mental problems.
Long-Term Drug Use
There's a strong connection between drug use and mental illness. It's often hard to tell if the person is self-medicating to get rid of the symptoms or the drug triggers the symptoms. Marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, psychedelic drugs such as LSD, alcohol and even seemingly harmless caffeine have all been linked to mental disorders. Long-term abuse of any substance can lead to anxiety, depression and paranoia.
Disease or Injury
Traumatic brain injury or exposure to toxins in the womb can cause mental illnesses. Lead in paint has been found to cause mental problems and certain foods are shown to contribute to ADHD. Infections that affect the brain can cause damage to areas involved in personality and thinking. The effect of disease and injury on the brain is not well understood because researchers have few chances to study real-life cases.
Life Experiences
Any kind of trauma that is either extremely stressful or persistent can lead to mental problems. The death of someone close to you, the experience of war, long-term harassment, working too hard or even being unemployed for too long can cause mental problems.
Society and Culture
Societal factors also contribute. There is a higher level of mental illness among immigrants, the poor, and people who lack social cohesion. Many blame the hectic pace of modern life and the dissolution of traditional values for the rise in psychological disorders. Racial oppression can also be a factor. However, there is little scientific evidence to support these social and cultural factors.
If you're worried that you may suffer from a mental illness, seek professional help immediately. A qualified professional can diagnose you, help you find the causes, and get you started on the right treatment.

To read more about Living with Bipolar disorder please visit my site http://www.mentalillnesstest.org.

Prodromal Schizophrenia

By Martin K James

Schizophrenia is one of the most common mental sicknesses that affect people in many parts of the world. The disorder is normally associated with breakdown of thoughts and being emotionally irresponsible. In many cases, an individual suffering from schizophrenia has delusions, hearing hallucinations and can also be paranoid. Later on the patient becomes socially and occupational dysfunctional. The disorder starts during the age of young adulthood and continues to the whole life of the patient. However, it is worth noting that schizophrenia patients have a shorter lifespan. Their lifespan is shorter by 0.3% to 0.7% when compared with that of normal persons.
Individuals suffering from schizophrenia lack contact with reality and they normally see and hear things that are not in existence. They tend to speak in strange ways and they always feel insecure with imaginations that they are being watched and someone might harm them. This makes patients of schizophrenia to isolate themselves and consequently become irresponsible people. They even refuse to eat or even bath and change their clothes. In some societies, people believe that people with schizophrenia are possessed by demons and consequently they are discriminated by their families and societies.
Schizophrenia is believed to be as a result of genetic, psychological, social, neurological and environmental factors surrounding the patient. According the psychological analysis of recent cases of schizophrenia, some of the modern lifestyles and recreational styles such as drug abuse have contributed greatly to worsening of the condition of patients suffering from this mental disorder. Economic challenges such as financial instability and unemployment are also making many young adults to develop Schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia occurs in stages that continue advancing if no medical measures are taken. However it is worth noting that the disorder is more severe if it developed during the young age of an individual. The first stage of the disorder is the prodromal stage. This is the early stage of schizophrenia. At this stage it is not possible to diagnose schizophrenia since the symptoms are not specific. The next stage is the acute stage where the patient starts developing specific schizophrenia symptoms. This is the active stage of the disorder and the patient after some time the patient advances to the residual stage of schizophrenia has which similar symptoms with prodromal stage.
Although the disorder is chronic it does not mean that individuals suffering from schizophrenia cannot help recover from their illnesses. Research shows that with adequate support from the family members and community members, individuals suffering from schizophrenia can do things by their own and live responsible lives. All that they need is adequate counseling and medication. The condition is easily treatable if it is realized in the early stages when little damage has occurred in the brain.
Therefore parents should be very observant in order to determine when their children are developing schizophrenia so that they can give them the necessary therapy, medication and support. In order to check whether a person is developing schizophrenia, it is important to monitor whether the person like staying alone, he/she is motionless, irrational reasoning, speaks in a strange manner, over sleeping or lack of sleep and poor hygiene. When an individual develops the above symptoms, he/she is likely to develop schizophrenia. It is therefore important to visit a psychiatrist in order to seek further clarification and take the necessary medical measures.

Schizophrenia can be very difficult in the early stage and we do all we can to help you and your close ones by providing as much information as possible.

Bipolar Disorder - How the Low Side Afflicts You

Bipolar disorder is, in fact, a name given to a group of mood disorders. It is not a specific mental health diagnosis. The disorder is characterized by mood-swings between high and low moods. The low moods can range from mild depression to a very severe depression which can last for many months. In fact the actual diagnosis is related to the pattern of mood-swings the afflicted person has. As a result the degree of the mood-swings relates to the actual bipolar disorder diagnoses the afflicted person has.
A diagnosis of cyclothyiac's disorder applies when there are definite mood-swings but they are not of a severe nature. Here the person will only enter a mild depression. Most likely they will experience:
• Change in sleeping habits (increase or decrease)
• Change in eating habits (increase or decrease)
• Little or no energy and
• Poor concentration with difficulty in focusing and decision-making. Poor decisions can result.
Cyclothyiac's disorder can bring with it its own set of problems. Specifically, the mood-swings can be such that the afflicted person does not realize that their mood-swings are any greater than a "normal persons." Their friends and loved ones may not be aware that the person is experiencing mood-swings at a level greater than normal. The result is that the disorder can be extremely hard to diagnose. In turn those so afflicted can go through life experiencing a series of mood-swings greater than what they should have to experience.
A diagnosis of bipolar, type 2 can lead to either mild or severe depression. The symptoms for severe depression are as for mild depression. However a number of these additional symptoms will also apply:
• Sadness, often including crying
• Little interest in or pleasure from normal daily activities
• Irritability and anger
• Anxious feelings and worrying
• A feeling that everything is going wrong for then
• Withdrawal from social activity
• Aches and pains with no physical cause
• Greatly reduced self-esteem and
• Suicidal thoughts, plans or attempts.
A diagnosis of bipolar, type 1 normally leads to severe depression. Recovering from severe depression can be extremely hard. There is an added danger if the person with severe depression has a diagnosis from within the bipolar disorder spectrum. Any treatment prescribed can push them past a normal mood. They could be pushed into hypomanic episode or even into full-blown mania.
By its medical definition a person with a diagnosis from the bipolar disorder spectrum will experience some degree of depression at some stage of their bipolar cycle. Their specific bipolar diagnosis will relate back to their normal cycle of highs and lows. The extent of the depression they experience will normally relate back to their specific bipolar diagnosis. Cyclothyiac's disorder normally lead to mild depression. Bipolar, type 2 can lead mild or severe bipolar. Bipolar, type 1 generally leads to severe depression.

Ray Tyler was diagnosed with manic depressive disorder in 1982. He still lives with, and receives treatment for the disorder, today. However he has not had a manic depressive episode since 1997.
You can follow Ray's blog at Bipolar Manic Depressive.com Ray has recently written a series of posts on depression in his blog. You can check out the most recent one HERE
Learn how to manage Manic Depressive (now known as Bipolar) disorder. This will enable you to regain control of your life.

The Dark Void of Depression

I can remember it beginning. Just one of those days, like I had before. I wake up tired after a sleepless night. My mind exhausted from thinking, and over-thinking. My body aching to lie in bed and actually sleep. But I can't rest... work beckons. Ugh... work. I go through my usual routine which I have for the past twelve and a half years, dreaming of the things I want in life, yet feel so handcuffed to meet.
I dive to the Portland's part of town. Nothing but junkyards, recycling, and of course the film industry. "It's all smoke and mirrors!", someone told me during my first week. I've come to realize the smoke show never ends. Every time you walk into the building I can feel my life being sucked from me. Your old supervisor looks at you with a face the literally tells you to screw yourself. Nice way to start the day. Now that I think of it, it's how I've been started my day for years.
Punch clock, coffee, work boots. My usual routine. A few pleasantries, and some witty sarcastic banter, and I retreat into my electronics shop, where my co-worker and I can spend a day, barely talking to each other. Which is one of the few things I've learned to enjoy. He's great guy, but both enjoy our solitude. Like many people I, "fell into" my job. It's not my passion. It offers no advancement, so there is no reason to have ambition. For years I've wondered why I am still here. So have some others at work. At the company Christmas party the President, CEO, general manager, and my ex-supervisor all asked me the same question, "What are you still doing here?!"
Good question. I've tried to figure it out myself. I didn't even notice the decent into the abyss. The void of stagnant and insidious thoughts that paralyzed me and raped me of my confidence. I never finished high school. I never finished college... twice! What am I going to do? With a child to support, and daily costs skyrocketing, I just can't up and leave, can I? So I sit in my little electronics shop that feels like a self-imposed prison. Many employees mention how lucky I am to work where I am... if they only knew what it feels like to be locked up and forgotten.
I wrote my first book. I finished it a year ago. It took another 8 months to go through the editing process. It was ready last July, it still isn't published. Where am I going to get the money to self publish when I am sometimes left with $100 to last me for 2 weeks? That's another thing. I'm broke all the time. My girlfriend's fed up that I'm broke all the time. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I have nothing, just nothing for the extras... trips, dinners out, dancing. We all know what women think of men like that.
It's not all bad. I did do something significant last year that took many 6 years to accomplish. Something that few men get to do. But during the year, I was hard to even enjoy it, because for every 100 people who throw you support, there over 20 trying to sabotage you. And indeed, little by little they chip away until you're sitting on top of a mountain you feel is crumbling and going to devour you whole.
By the end, I was so exhausted. Completely spent. Resentful, angry, and lost. I knew what I wanted to do but didn't have the energy. I knew where I needed to be, but couldn't find the way. Every night I came home from my boring day, I would stop and buy cigarettes and a 6 pack of beer. Yes, I started smoking again. First a couple. Now a whole damn pack. Just like the beer. I'd have one or two to relax and take the edge off, then I'd buy a small bottle of vodka to go along with it and quicken the effect. Till I was eventually just buying a bottle of vodka and almost finishing it all in a night. You don't even notice it going. A sip here, a sip there. In fact, no one noticed either. I wouldn't drink around my son or my girlfriend. I could go days without drinking, so I didn't really think I was in trouble, although I knew I had a problem. The drinking stopped my productivity. Stopped me from doing things I needed to do. When I got home at night I didn't want to do anything. But drink.
Day after day. Month after month. Each month I came home and wasted my night away the angrier I got. Each week that passed the deeper I sank. Each month that passed the larger the void of depression became. Until I finally exploded. I've always had an anger problem. And it usually is taken out on the ones I love. It created a wedge in my relationship where my girlfriend couldn't deal with my anger and manipulation any longer. Finally, on the edge of the cliff, I admitted to her what I was hiding inside for so long. I was depressed. severely depressed.
I called up my workplace assistance program the next evening to speak to a online counselor. By the next Friday I sat in an office taking a depression test. I scored 46. Severe depression was rated at 30. I was in deep. My first session didn't have any epiphanies or anything. But laid some groundwork, and homework. I didn't feel much when I left, but the next day, something odd happened. I slept all the way through the night for the first time in years. And I work up, feeling not great, but better. Better knowing that I am finally doing something about my depression. It's amazing what taking that first step can do. I wonder why it had taken me so long.
Words can't properly describe the emptiness one feels when they are depressed. The sense of being paralyzed with fear, and the sense of your sinking self worth. Everyone around you may never even notice. Most truthfully won't even care., or at least it feels like it. Like we're all in this alone, and the ones you need to talk to drain you with their problems, their issues, and their needs. While we're screaming for someone to just listen. Just shut up and listen. When you're already drained, it can sap the last ounce of life you have right out of you. But you remain silent because your problems can't be more important than theirs. Besides... they need you. My retreat... the bottle.
Seeking a counselor can helped megain perspective and insight into why I was feeling the way I was, and how to identify the triggers, that keep me from living the life I want. If you're in doubt, you don't need to speak to your friends if you're embarrassed, just make sure you pick up the phone, or find an online service where you can get the help you need.
When all seems lost, it's time to do something you've never done to have the life you've never had. I know, that's what I've had to do.

Elliot Zovighian is a life coach, speaker, author, blogger is the owner of EZ Lifestyles, a life coaching company from Toronto, Canada. His daily blog offers articles and advice on such subjects as life skills, work and career, relationships, parenting, featured videos and more. http://www.ezlifestyles.ca

I can remember it beginning. Just one of those days, like I had before. I wake up tired after a sleepless night. My mind exhausted from thinking, and over-thinking. My body aching to lie in bed and actually sleep. But I can't rest... work beckons. Ugh... work. I go through my usual routine which I have for the past twelve and a half years, dreaming of the things I want in life, yet feel so handcuffed to meet.
I dive to the Portland's part of town. Nothing but junkyards, recycling, and of course the film industry. "It's all smoke and mirrors!", someone told me during my first week. I've come to realize the smoke show never ends. Every time you walk into the building I can feel my life being sucked from me. Your old supervisor looks at you with a face the literally tells you to screw yourself. Nice way to start the day. Now that I think of it, it's how I've been started my day for years.
Punch clock, coffee, work boots. My usual routine. A few pleasantries, and some witty sarcastic banter, and I retreat into my electronics shop, where my co-worker and I can spend a day, barely talking to each other. Which is one of the few things I've learned to enjoy. He's great guy, but both enjoy our solitude. Like many people I, "fell into" my job. It's not my passion. It offers no advancement, so there is no reason to have ambition. For years I've wondered why I am still here. So have some others at work. At the company Christmas party the President, CEO, general manager, and my ex-supervisor all asked me the same question, "What are you still doing here?!"
Good question. I've tried to figure it out myself. I didn't even notice the decent into the abyss. The void of stagnant and insidious thoughts that paralyzed me and raped me of my confidence. I never finished high school. I never finished college... twice! What am I going to do? With a child to support, and daily costs skyrocketing, I just can't up and leave, can I? So I sit in my little electronics shop that feels like a self-imposed prison. Many employees mention how lucky I am to work where I am... if they only knew what it feels like to be locked up and forgotten.
I wrote my first book. I finished it a year ago. It took another 8 months to go through the editing process. It was ready last July, it still isn't published. Where am I going to get the money to self publish when I am sometimes left with $100 to last me for 2 weeks? That's another thing. I'm broke all the time. My girlfriend's fed up that I'm broke all the time. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I have nothing, just nothing for the extras... trips, dinners out, dancing. We all know what women think of men like that.
It's not all bad. I did do something significant last year that took many 6 years to accomplish. Something that few men get to do. But during the year, I was hard to even enjoy it, because for every 100 people who throw you support, there over 20 trying to sabotage you. And indeed, little by little they chip away until you're sitting on top of a mountain you feel is crumbling and going to devour you whole.
By the end, I was so exhausted. Completely spent. Resentful, angry, and lost. I knew what I wanted to do but didn't have the energy. I knew where I needed to be, but couldn't find the way. Every night I came home from my boring day, I would stop and buy cigarettes and a 6 pack of beer. Yes, I started smoking again. First a couple. Now a whole damn pack. Just like the beer. I'd have one or two to relax and take the edge off, then I'd buy a small bottle of vodka to go along with it and quicken the effect. Till I was eventually just buying a bottle of vodka and almost finishing it all in a night. You don't even notice it going. A sip here, a sip there. In fact, no one noticed either. I wouldn't drink around my son or my girlfriend. I could go days without drinking, so I didn't really think I was in trouble, although I knew I had a problem. The drinking stopped my productivity. Stopped me from doing things I needed to do. When I got home at night I didn't want to do anything. But drink.
Day after day. Month after month. Each month I came home and wasted my night away the angrier I got. Each week that passed the deeper I sank. Each month that passed the larger the void of depression became. Until I finally exploded. I've always had an anger problem. And it usually is taken out on the ones I love. It created a wedge in my relationship where my girlfriend couldn't deal with my anger and manipulation any longer. Finally, on the edge of the cliff, I admitted to her what I was hiding inside for so long. I was depressed. severely depressed.
I called up my workplace assistance program the next evening to speak to a online counselor. By the next Friday I sat in an office taking a depression test. I scored 46. Severe depression was rated at 30. I was in deep. My first session didn't have any epiphanies or anything. But laid some groundwork, and homework. I didn't feel much when I left, but the next day, something odd happened. I slept all the way through the night for the first time in years. And I work up, feeling not great, but better. Better knowing that I am finally doing something about my depression. It's amazing what taking that first step can do. I wonder why it had taken me so long.
Words can't properly describe the emptiness one feels when they are depressed. The sense of being paralyzed with fear, and the sense of your sinking self worth. Everyone around you may never even notice. Most truthfully won't even care., or at least it feels like it. Like we're all in this alone, and the ones you need to talk to drain you with their problems, their issues, and their needs. While we're screaming for someone to just listen. Just shut up and listen. When you're already drained, it can sap the last ounce of life you have right out of you. But you remain silent because your problems can't be more important than theirs. Besides... they need you. My retreat... the bottle.
Seeking a counselor can helped megain perspective and insight into why I was feeling the way I was, and how to identify the triggers, that keep me from living the life I want. If you're in doubt, you don't need to speak to your friends if you're embarrassed, just make sure you pick up the phone, or find an online service where you can get the help you need.
When all seems lost, it's time to do something you've never done to have the life you've never had. I know, that's what I've had to do.

Elliot Zovighian is a life coach, speaker, author, blogger is the owner of EZ Lifestyles, a life coaching company from Toronto, Canada. His daily blog offers articles and advice on such subjects as life skills, work and career, relationships, parenting, featured videos and more. http://www.ezlifestyles.ca

Mental Illness Q and A - Mental Illness Research

By Neil Mastellone Co-Author: Jeanie Mastellone

Waiver
This information is offered for educational purposes only and is not intended to serve as medical advice. The information provided should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. It is not a substitute for professional care. If your child, teen, or you have any health concerns, please consult your health care provider.
Q: What do you have to say about the painful stigma that still exists against people with a mental illness?
A: Every mental illness is essentially a subconsciously controlled and self-orchestrated "selfish reaction." A mentally ill child, teen, or adult is in strong reacting to the selfish and abusive choices of an unloving parent.
The "disease model" that is being marketed is to the public designed to take the spotlight off of abusive parents and enables doctors to prescribe powerful and costly psychiatric medications that numb patients to their reactive negative parent-related memories and feelings. Current medical theories and treatments drain people of their money, while enhancing the bank accounts of medical professionals and the pharmaceutical industry.
Too bad we don't stigmatize our "greed," "selfishness," and "selfish control." Those kinds of stigma would benefit all of us.
Q: From what I have read most of the parents of teenage suicide victims claim that they had no clue that their children were having a problem. Could that actually be true?
A: Of course not. Nor is it true that young people kill themselves or try to kill themselves because they got a poor grade, were jilted by a lover, were taunted by friends, were depressed over losing at a sport, were rejected because of their sexual orientation, or were at the negative effect of drugs. There is always more going on.
There are always deeper reasons that usually relate to parents and how the suicide victim was treated at home. Parent related sexual abuse is probably the main ingredient that provides the "emotional charge" that provides impetus to the drive to end one's life.
Q: Do you think that someday we will no longer view mental illness as a "disease?"
A: I hope so.
I also hope that we quickly come to view all mental illnesses as being the "selfish reactions" that they actually are. Otherwise, the mentally ill will suffer in their denial, reaction, and illusion, with no realistic way to heal from their pain.
Q: Don't the studies that show imbalances of neurotransmitters in the brains of mentally ill individuals, and structural and energetic differences between the brains of people with mental illnesses and normal people, and the studies that link certain genes to particular mental disorders prove that mental illnesses are "biologically caused?
A: Mental illnesses do not have a biological cause. Psychology and a person's negative intentions and choices cause mental illnesses. Medical studies assert that they do but, in fact, they prove no such thing.
Researchers refuse to consider that psychology can and regularly does affect biology. Obvious examples of how that happens occur constantly in everyday life. These example stare researchers the in the face. However, not because they are ignorant, which they are not, but for self-serving reasons they choose to see and interpret facts as they want to see the or are told to see them.
Consider how a person's choices to become fearful or angry will affect the physical body's heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, muscle tension, the flow of brain chemicals, hormones, and blood distribution. These are clear examples of psychology altering conditions in the physical body. When medical researchers look at brain scans and see physical abnormalities, they are looking are "effects" not "causes."
The medical and pharmaceutical establishments have "good" self-serving reasons for putting the cart before the horse.
Q: Do you deny that the drug therapies for severe mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, clinical depression, even schizophrenia remarkably effective?
A: Yes. Psychiatric drugs are somewhat effective at controlling symptoms, but only for a time for a time, and not for all sufferers.
However, as every mentally ill person knows, more powerful doses or more combinations of drugs are usually needed to keep reactive negative memories and feelings from leaking into conscious awareness. Drugs can control and also produce painful side-effects, but they do not heal.
Over-medicating by mental health experts, especially the drugging of children and the elderly, has gotten way out of hand.
Q: What do you think of electro-shock therapy?
A. I think it is a barbaric practice.
Q: What are your thoughts about the Cognitive Therapies that are so popular?
A. Cognitive Therapies have a major flaw. They assume that "wrong thinking" is the problem. In fact, "wrong choices" are the core problem. Remember, before we think a thought, experience a feeling, take an action, or have a reaction, we subconsciously choose the thought, feeling, action, or reaction. If that were not the case, everyone's inner experience would be totally chaotic.

For truly new perspectives and insights about the psychological dimensions of our humanity, our most influential relationships, and the roots of our earliest reactions which are the roots of our disorders and dysfunctional behavior patterns, visit http://www.upfrontpress.com/
Get cutting-edge research findings and the truth about the psychological sophistication of our unborn babies in a revealing reality-based fiction book "Talking to God about Pregnancy & Babies." Visit http://www.godtalkbooks.com/

Depression As A Misdiagnosis

Depression is a common mood disorder that a number of people seek assistance with. Unfortunately, some of these people end up misdiagnosed as depressed when they actually have bipolar disorder. Depression is a component of bipolar disorder. Though they are both mood disorders, they are entirely separate afflictions that require starkly different treatments. Misdiagnosis derails a person's wellness goals until it is corrected.
Psychiatric and medical professionals that do not have specific knowledge of bipolar disorder can easily overlook it. The reason is simple. A person that is depressed is going to understand how terrible they probably feel. They will visit their doctor, talk about their depression, how they're feeling, and hopefully be treated for it. The problem is that the depressive person does not always associate their mental upswings as a negative experience even if they are destructive. Anything is a welcome respite and positive so long as it is not the consuming void of depression.
Misdiagnosis creates a very drastic problem. The average treatment for bipolar disorder includes an antidepressant and a mood stabilizer. The antidepressant is meant to bring the lower end of the person's moods to a higher level. The mood stabilizer creates a ceiling that prevents the bipolar person from escalating. Treatment for depression does not include a mood stabilizer. A bipolar person that is misdiagnosed as depressed and is on antidepressants will just keep escalating until they finally hit their breaking point. The mood stabilizer is not there to provide the necessary ceiling. That is extremely dangerous. It has resulted in suicides, homicides, institutionalization, and self-destruction.
There is good news and bad news! The good news is that the symptoms of the manic periods of bipolar disorder are fairly easy once a person understands what they look like. The bad news is that not a whole lot of people understand what Bipolar Disorder is as opposed to the mental image they have through the media or their own opinions.
The answer is in the question- how does the person feel when they are not depressed? Do they have unlimited energy? How about very scattered thoughts that either do not connect or are entirely erratic? How is the person sleeping? A manic bipolar can get very little to no sleep and still not be physically tired. Manic thinking causes a person to draw conclusions and have thoughts that they normally would not. It is common for a bipolar person to look back on an unwell period and question why they ever would have performed an action that they did. Impulsive decisions and spending are also very common.
The most important question at the center of it all is simply, "Are the periods where I am not depressed just as destructive when I am?" A person that is answering yes to some of these questions should ask to be screened for bipolar disorder.
Depression is easily treatable for a number of people. People that have more psychiatric problems going on will have a much harder time of things. A depressive person struggling to find wellness for years should ask to be screened whether they feel they meet the criteria or not. A dual diagnosis of depression and some form of anxiety disorder is common. Manic symptoms are often mistaken for the signs of an anxiety disorder because they share many similarities.
The final thing to look for is a pattern. Bipolar Disorder typically emerges during puberty. The Bipolar person's manic unwell periods follow a certain pattern. An event will trigger them, they will begin to escalate, their mind will gain speed until it reaches the peak, and then they will plummet down into a deep depression much worse than what they normally deal with. The next few days after that the person will feel pretty good but not to an unhealthy extent. Finally, they will settle back to whatever their baseline mood is. This pattern will have repeated itself several times over the course of the person's life.
Misdiagnosis of bipolar disorder as depression ensures that the bipolar person will not find wellness.

I'm a Type 2 Bipolar who spent uses his experiences to help people struggling with Depression and Bipolar Disorder to lead better lives. I aim to help educate them and their loved ones through my website at http://www.bipolarmanifesto.com

How Does Anxiety Affect Someone With Bipolar Disorder?

For people who are suffering from bipolar disorder, their problems may be compounded by anxiety. In 1921, Dr. Emil Kraepelin described it is as an "excited depression" and "anxious mania". According to him, anxiety is one of the symptoms of bipolar disorder. This view is highly debatable because some psychologists argue that anxiety is not a symptom. How does anxiety affect a person with bipolar disorder?
To understand how anxiety can affect people who are suffering from bipolar disorder, it's necessary to answer the question from both angles. On one side, let's look at anxiety as a symptom of bipolar disorder. In this case, the bipolar patient will suffer from less anxiety as the disorder improves. On the other side, let's look at anxiety as a condition which is separate from this condition. In this case, the bipolar patient's condition may improve but the anxiety problems may still persist. The patient will receive separate treatment for anxiety and bipolar disorder. Now, the problem is that antidepressant medication is used to treat anxiety but the medication is not suitable for bipolar patients because it makes the disorder worse.
When anxiety is a symptom, the patients say that they feel some kind of "agitation". This can be manifested in the way the patients walk around the room as they are being interviewed or they are found to be picking their nails. Other times, the patients may experience the feeling like they have "too much energy" within their skin or their thoughts are racing very fast. In more severe cases, the person may not be able to perform any task at all because he or she will be experiencing racing thoughts that are extremely random and overbearing so the person will not be able to concentrate, even for a few seconds. It can be very hard for people who experience this kind of anxiety to another person.
Sometimes, this form of anxiety may also be accompanied by irritability, which is a manic symptom. In this case, the person may turn to a short-term solution like alcohol to ease the awful experience. When these attacks occur, you will have an impulse to want to end the suffering. Alcohol can help to reduce the suffering for a couple of hours but the symptoms will return with greater fury when the effect wears off. Some people just keep drinking to control the symptoms but ultimately, they fall into a spiral, which may result in successful suicide. If you are suffering from anxiety as a symptom of bipolar disorder, you should seek professional help at once.
In the case where anxiety is a separate condition from bipolar disorder, it can appear in various forms. The bipolar patient may suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder or specific phobias. Specific phobias refer to the fear of heights, water, spider, snakes, and so on. Again, it's best to seek professional help when you are suffering from these types of anxiety.

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