Shanel Herrera

11/12/2014
Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder is also known as manic-depressive illness, after I researched this illness I came
to the conclusion that the alternate name sums the disorder up perfectly. Manic meaning: showing wild
and apparently deranged excitement and energy, and depressive meaning: a person suffering from or
with a tendency to suffer from depression. These two words could easily be classified as opposite which
sums up bipolar disorder even more. In simple terms a person with the disorder can be described as
someone with serve mood changes, easily going from really happy to really mad. These changes can
happen over long periods of time or in a matter of minutes.
Bipolar disorder affects your brain that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels,
and ability to carry out day to day tasks. MRI studies in adults with bipolar disorder have found that their
brains prefrontal cortex is smaller and doesnt function as well as an adults without bipolar disorder.
The prefrontal cortex is the brains structure involved in executive functions such as solving problems
and making decisions. This disorder can be detected as early as the teen years of a persons life, this is
because the prefrontal cortex and its connections to other parts of the brain mature during adolescence.
An imbalance in neurotransmitters seem to also pay a significant role in bipolar disorder.
Other than getting an MRI there are symptoms that can be seen in a person suffering from this
disorder. They usually experience intense emotional states. Each mood is drastically different from the
persons normal mood and behavior. Other symptoms are but not limited to: depression, inflated selfesteem, poor judgment, rapid speech, racing thoughts, aggressive behavior, decreased need for sleep,
easily distracted, and poor performance at work or school. Just having one or more of these symptoms
does not mean that, that particular person has bipolar disorder and the best way to find out for sure is
to see a doctor or a phycologist.

This disorder has been classified as a disorder that is genetic. There has been research that says
that certain genes are more likely to develop bipolar disorder then others. It is also said that genes are
not the only factor in development and that environment can also have a good or bad effect. Including
going through periods of high stress, drug or alcohol abuse, and major life changes such as death of a
loved one. There are different types of bipolar disorder and some are more sever the others. There is
Bipolar I disorder, Bipolar II disorder and Cyclothymic disorder which is the mildest form of the disorder.
There is treatment for bipolar disorder but it cannot be cured. Treatment consists of taking
medication usually in pill form and going to therapy. The treatment helps people gain control of their
mood swings and related symptoms. The one down side is that treatment has to stay continuous
throughout the persons life to keep away the symptoms. Another down side is even though the person
with the disorder may be taking treatment regularly they can still experience some symptoms including
mood swings. Treatment is very critical for a person with this disorder because ultimately they can
injure themselves or other people sometimes causing in death. The problems are including but not
limited to, financial problems, relationship problems, isolation and loneliness, poor work or school
performance, and suicide.
There are some other conditions that commonly occur with bipolar disorder that have to be
treated because they could worsen existing bipolar. Anxiety disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder, physical health problems such as heart disease, thyroid problems and obesity. These are just
commonly found accompanied with peoples bipolar disorder but does not mean that everyone with
bipolar will also have other health problems. Bipolar disorder at first glance doesnt sound or seem as if
it would be a very serious disorder, but bipolar disorder is a problem because it occurs in your brain
which is one of the most import organs in your body. If your brain is not functioning properly then your
body cant function properly. Which makes bipolar disorder a very serious and life endangering disorder.

Bibliography
"Bipolar Disorder." NIMH RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.
"Bipolar Disorder." Definition. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.