The Highs and Lows Of Manic Depression

The moods of a manic depressive person are like that of a pendulum swinging from one extreme to the other. As the term itself implies, manic depression is a psychological disorder wherein a person has bouts of mania and depression. Manic depression is associated with extreme mood swings and sudden behavioral changes. In one instance, a person may be extremely buoyant and talkative, has rapid flight of ideas and heightened energy that may lead to decreased amounts of sleep. This manic phase of manic depression can last for hours, days, weeks or months, and it is a racing, giddy state of elevated mood.

This hypomanic episode can present itself as a strange behavior, as although it can pass for sociability, the hypomanic person can sometimes exhibit aggressive behavior. A person usually has a turgid and aggrandized self image when in the hypomanic state. When deeply traced, though, the person usually has fragile self-esteem Another phase of manic depression, also called bipolar disorder is the major depressive episode. This phase basically has a greater drawback as a person's enthusiasm for life takes a back seat. In the major depressive episode, a person deviates himself from his peers and his family and his normal activities are put to a halt.

This might also strike as an unusual behavior as the depressive person isolates himself from his external environment. In the depressive episode of manic depression, a person's self-confidence is not only lacking, but is at an all time low at that. Whereas the hypomanic phase make a person "sociable" to some extent, the major depressive episode can be devastating and debilitating. Another episode of manic depression is the mixed episode, and as the term implies, it is a combination of both mania and depression. Manic depression is categorized as Bipolar I disorder and Bipolar II disorder. Bipolar I is categorically the hypomanic phase and this heightened mood can last from hours, days, weeks or months.

Bipolar II disorder is the depressive episode with at least one hypomanic episode. Bipolar II disorder is more incapacitating as this category of manic depression gravely hampers a person's social life and elicits erratic mood changes. Anybody can potentially suffer from manic depression as it is not exclusive to any specific age bracket. Manic depression episodes initially occur during late adolescence or early adulthood but there are cases wherein children and the elderly have bouts of manic depression. Neither is bipolar disorder confined to a particular gender, race or class although manifestations between men and women are generally different. With proper consultation, medication and therapy, manic depression can be treated.

Once diagnosed, the medications can regulate the mood swings and the accompanying psychotherapy can trace and unravel the psychological causes of the manic depressive bouts. As psychiatry also trace mental disorders to a chemical imbalance in the brain, certain antipsychotic drugs are generally prescribed to normalize the imbalance and neutralize the extreme mood swings. Psychotherapy on the other hand allows the patient to express and relieve his anxieties. Regular therapy is the flushing out of psychic garbage until eventually the patient comes to terms with himself. Manic depression must never be left untreated as it can result to personality deterioration and eventually dysfunctionality.

Family and peer support are also essential for a person to overcome manic depression. Psychological disturbances can be curable. Advances in psychiatry as well as community education and awareness have made it possible for those with mental disorders to live a full and happy life.

The author of this article Rose Windale is a Health and Wellness Coach who has been successful with several natural health programs for many years. Rose decided to share her knowledge and tips through her website http://www.healthzine.org. You can sign up for her free newsletter and enjoy a healthy and happy life.

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Manic Depression Symptoms - The Highs and Lows

Manic depression is a mental disorder that is also called manic depressive disorder. To some, it is known as bipolar disorder. Manic depression symptoms are known to be on the extreme sides of the spectrum. They are either on the high end or the low end. The high-end symptoms are known to be the manic symptoms while the low end is known as the "hypo" symptoms or the depressive symptoms.

This type of mental disorder is hard to spot because the patient may appear to be going well after an episode of depression. Unknown to people around him, he becomes sunny all of the sudden not because he has overcome depression; it is just that he shifted to mania, the other symptom of his illness.

Manic Symptoms

The following are manic depression symptoms observed in patients who suffer from the manic or high end of the mental disease:

o Extreme kindness and euphoric mood.

o Being provocative.

o Inability to concentrate, always and easily distracted.

o Talking very fast due to the racing thoughts that flood the mind.

o Extreme energy level, hyper activity and restlessness.

o Excessive and uncharacteristic spending.

o Incoherence and mixed ideas.

o Increase in sexual drive.

o Intrusive behavior.

o Overly aggressive behavior.

o Very poor judgment

o Believing in his own super powers and unrealistic abilities.

o Extremely irritable.

o Sleeps too little but still have too much energy.

o Abusive use of substances such as cocaine, alcohol, and sleeping medications.

o Falling into a denial stage and not believing that anything is wrong with him.

Depressive Symptoms

The following manic depression symptoms are observed from patients on the low or depressed mode of the disorder.

o Sadness that stays for a considerable length of time accompanied by anxiousness and feeling of emptiness.

o A constant feeling of fatigue and a very low energy level.

o Feeling hopeless and always pessimistic.

o Loss of sexual drive.

o Inability to feel pleasure from anything.

o Inability to concentrate.

o A gnawing sense of guilt and feeling worthless.

o Forgetfulness.

o Restlessness.

o Extreme irritability.

o Inability to make rational decisions.

o Insomnia or oversleeping.

o A drastic loss or gain of appetite that leads to either weight loss or gain.

o Constant body pains that can not be confirmed by medical examinations.

o Suicidal tendencies.

Psychosis is another phenomenon that can be observed as a manic depression symptom. It occurs in both manic and depressive modes of the disorder. It is characterized by hallucination and delusion that is sometimes mistaken for schizophrenia (another form of mental disorder that also manifests hallucination and delusion).

It is important that proper diagnosis be done to tell whether it is manic depression symptom or schizophrenia because the two types of mental disorder need different types of psychological and medical attention.

There are people who exhibit mixed manic depressive symptoms. They manifest both the high and the low end symptoms of the disorder at the same time.

When To Seek Help

As mentioned, it is not easy to determine if a person has manic depressive disorder. If you suspect that you or a loved one is suffering from this mental illness, it would be best if you go and see a psychiatrist to fully assess your condition immediately since the person with this illness has a very erratic and unstable behavior. It can go from shoplifting to promiscuous sexual behavior to suicide. What's more, these behaviors may be manifest within a short period of time.

Proper diagnosis of the manic depressive symptoms is necessary in order to provide the proper treatment needed by the patient. The symptoms are confusing. The assistance of professional people is important in order to recover properly. Administration of medication is almost always necessary to stabilize the patient. Medications would help a patient respond well to other forms of psychiatric treatments such as psychotherapy and cognitive therapy.

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