Mania & Bipolar Disorder

Question 1

Bipolar disorder

Answer 1

common diagnosis- 5% of pop- all ages.
mild–> mod severity.
-rarely hospitalized or only for few days.
-many include mood swing within days- each few hours.
-treated with “multi-drug cocktail”
-including all classes of psychiatric drugs- for many years- essentially permanently.

Question 2

Bipolar 20 years ago

Answer 2

= known as Manic Depressive Disorder

• rare 0-1% of population. -severe disorder.
• required hospitalization- mood swing eps last weeks/months.
• -admitted for weeks/months (if untreated).

Question 3

Treatment of “old bipolar disorder”

Answer 3

acute treatment of depress/mania

• prevention “Prophylaxis” of future eps
• Lithium (usually lithium carbonate)
• old bipolar diagnosis restricted to adults. Huge change.
• are modern & old bipolar same? diff lvls of severity?
• only 2% of modern bipolar would be diagnosed as manic depressive 20 years ago.

Modern bipolar=
Bipolar I = similar to manic d- rare/severe, adults.
Bipolar II = less severe/all ages.

Question 4

Old Bipolar diff to distinguish from Sz

Answer 4

• if Sz wouldn’t get better, long term deterioration.
• -if old bipolar full recovery b/w eps no deterioration.

Bipolar II- diagnosed 20 years ago = general nervousness, neurosis, high neurotic trait.

• -anx disorders- GAD, phobias, OCD, milder types of depress as “reactive/neurotic” depression.
• -personality disorders.

Question 5

Psychoactive drug effects & withdrawal.

mania

Answer 5

Hypomania & Mania= hypomania= milder.

• -hypomania + psychotic feats= Mania
• tend start with hypomania then escalate to mania order days/weeks.

Hypomania- elevated mood, euphoric/excited/agg. - increased energy- over activity/talkativeness.

• don’t sleep much, feel don’t need to. Poor concentration.
• easily distracted.
• inflated self-esteem- grandiosity- reckless impulsive behaviour- over spending, promiscuity, agg, violence.
• -diagnoses based on change in behaviour over days/weeks.
• symps- in “realm of normal”- therefore change from not having these traits to having them indicates hypomania.
• -no insight- don’t believe they are ill- feel good.
• diagnosed by talking to ppl they know.
• before treatment, may die exhaustion.
• high suicide rate- Brittle Mood.
• requires compulsory hospital treatment (against their will).