Bipolar Affective Disorder
The phenomenon of has been a mystery since the 16th century. History has shown that this affliction can appear in almost anyone. Even the great painter Vincent Van Gogh is believed to have had bipolar disorder. It is clear that in our society many people live with bipolar disorder; however, despite the abundance of people suffering from it, we are still waiting for definite explanations for the causes and cure. The one fact of which we are painfully aware is that bipolar disorder severely undermines its’ victims ability to obtain and maintain social and occupational success. Because bipolar disorder has such debilitating symptoms, it is imperative that we remain vigilant in the quest for ...
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indecision, and recurrent thoughts of death and suicide (Hollandsworth, Jr. 1990 ). The manic episodes are characterized by elevated or irritable mood, increased energy, decreased need for sleep, poor judgment and insight, and often reckless or irresponsible behavior (Hollandsworth, Jr. 1990 ).
Bipolar disorder is diagnosed if an episode of mania occurs whether depression has been diagnosed or not (Goodwin, Guze, 1989, p 11). Most commonly, individuals with manic episodes experience a period of depression. Symptoms include elated, expansive, or irritable mood, hyperactivity, pressure of speech, flight of ideas, inflated self esteem, decreased need for sleep, distractibility, and excessive involvement in reckless activities (Hollandsworth, Jr. 1990 ). Rarest symptoms were periods of loss of all interest and retardation or agitation (Weisman, 1991).
As the National Depressive and Manic Depressive Association (NDMDA) has demonstrated, bipolar disorder can create substantial ...
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are what actually create the symptoms of a depressed or manic person. Seratonin is one of the major players in the chemical makeup of a bipolar patient. Some studies show that bipolar patients lack seratonin re-uptake sites and there is more seratonin overall in bipolar patients (Kaplan, 1991). This has been discovered through the probing of suicide victims. There is no sure way to know if this is the case in bipolar patients, however, because all of the data is collected postmortem.
Another chemical involved in bipolar disorder is dopamine. Dopamine activity is said to increase in manic periods and decrease in periods of depression. Hundreds of experiments show that there are ...
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Bipolar Affective Disorder. (2005, October 17). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Bipolar-Affective-Disorder/35022
"Bipolar Affective Disorder." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 17 Oct. 2005. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Bipolar-Affective-Disorder/35022>
"Bipolar Affective Disorder." Essayworld.com. October 17, 2005. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Bipolar-Affective-Disorder/35022.
"Bipolar Affective Disorder." Essayworld.com. October 17, 2005. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Bipolar-Affective-Disorder/35022.
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