are you bipolar your whole life?
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Bipolar disorder is a lifelong condition, but the symptoms can be treated. With effective treatment, those with bipolar disorder can live a full life.
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There are no specific blood tests or brain scans to diagnose bipolar disorder. Even so, your doctor may perform a physical exam and order lab tests, including a thyroid function test and urine analyses. These tests can help determine if other conditions or factors could be causing your symptoms.
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Although bipolar disorder has no cure, people with the condition can experience long periods during which they are free of symptoms. With ongoing treatment and self-management, people with bipolar disorder can maintain a stable mood for extended periods.
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If you have bipolar disorder, you may have episodes of depression more regularly than episodes of mania, or vice versa. Between episodes of depression and mania, you may sometimes have periods where you have a "normal" mood.
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High Stress People who experience traumatic events are at higher risk for developing bipolar disorder. Childhood factors such as sexual or physical abuse, neglect, the death of a parent, or other traumatic events can increase the risk of bipolar disorder later in life.
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Bipolar disorder is easily confused with depression because it can include depressive episodes. The main difference between the two is that depression is unipolar, meaning that there is no “up” period, but bipolar disorder includes symptoms of mania.
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While the manic episodes of bipolar I disorder can be severe and dangerous, individuals with bipolar II disorder can be depressed for longer periods, which can cause significant impairment. Although bipolar disorder can occur at any age, typically it's diagnosed in the teenage years or early 20s.
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The disorders differ in several ways: Bipolar disorder does not involve problems with self-identity. Multiple personality disorder causes issues with self-identity, which is split between several identities.
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Mood swings of bipolar disorder are more random and less related to events than those of borderline. Those with bipolar might have a hair-trigger kind of response during an episode, whereas the borderline person has a hair-trigger response all of the time.
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Fact: Bipolar disorder can be effectively treated and managed. More than 30% of bipolar patients can expect full and complete recovery while another 40% can expect a very marked reduction in their symptoms. Individuals can go into remission during various periods of their life.
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Filing for Social Security Disability with a Bipolar Disorder Diagnosis. If an individual's Bipolar Disorder is constant and impairs all ability to function in a work environment, that person may be entitled to Social Security Disability benefits.
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People with bipolar experience both episodes of severe depression, and episodes of mania – overwhelming joy, excitement or happiness, huge energy, a reduced need for sleep, and reduced inhibitions. The experience of bipolar is uniquely personal. No two people have exactly the same experience.
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Studies report that some people with bipolar disorder have complained of memory impairment during high moods, low moods, and at times in between. As a person's mood shifts, they may report changes in their memory, too. As the mood becomes more extreme, memory problems can increase.
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Bipolar disorder–OCD overlap is common: between 15% and 20% of patients with bipolar disorders also meet criteria for OCD. When found together, the conditions interact: OCD symptoms worsen during depression and improve during mania (most but not all of the time).
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Are people born with a mental illness? No. A vulnerability to some mental illnesses, such as bipolar mood disorder,can run in families.
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Although affective instability is a prominent feature of each, the pattern is entirely different. BPD is characterized by transient mood shifts that occur in response to interpersonal stressors, whereas bipolar disorder is associated with sustained mood changes.
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Bipolar disorder can cause your mood to swing from an extreme high to an extreme low. Manic symptoms can include increased energy, excitement, impulsive behaviour and agitation. Depressive symptoms can include lack of energy, feeling worthless, low self-esteem and suicidal thoughts.