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Manic depression
Last reviewed: 17.10.2021
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Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression in the past, is a mental illness that causes mood swings in a patient, from depressively depressive to overly excited. People with this disease, feeling happy and joyful, sharply fall into an excessive feeling of sadness and depression and vice versa. Because manic depression is characterized by a sharp change in the phases of a mood — or its polarity — it is called bipolar disorder, or two polar disorder. Between bouts of mood changes, the patient may be in a normal state and mood.
The word "mania" describes the condition of the patient when he is in an overly elevated and agitated mood and feels self-confident. These feelings quickly develop into confusion, irritability, anger, and even anger. The word "depression" describes the state of depression and sadness of the patient. Since the symptoms are similar, sometimes patients are mistakenly diagnosed with acute depression.
In most patients, attacks of the depressive phase occur much more often than mania.
Who is most likely to have manic depression?
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 2 million people in the United States suffer from a disorder such as manic depression. It usually begins at a young age, up to 35 years. If children fall ill, then it will proceed in a more complex form and together with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Some studies have shown that manic depression is hereditary, due to its frequent occurrence within the same family.
This disease affects both men and women equally, but women suffer more frequent bouts of mood swings - that is, bipolar disorder of a cyclical nature. Such a course of the disease can be caused by the fact that women’s hormone levels change more frequently, their thyroid function is disturbed, and they are more often prescribed antidepressant medication. Women are also more prone to frequent bouts of depression than mania.
As a result of research, it was found that about 60% of patients with bipolar disorder also suffer from alcohol or drug addiction. In addition, studies have shown that manic depression most often occurs in people with seasonal affective disorder or post-traumatic syndrome.
What causes manic depression?
The inability to say with precision what caused the onset of depression or bipolar disorder, but the reasons include genetic predisposition, changes in the chemical elements of the brain or the environment, such as stress or changes in life. More and more studies are being conducted to establish the link between these causes and the appearance of bipolar disorder, how to avoid its first attack, and what role these causes play in treatment.
How does manic depression manifest itself?
Manic depression is characterized by a change in mood phases that do not follow a certain order, and depression does not always occur after mania. A patient may experience an attack of one phase several times in a row, when suddenly he develops an attack of the opposite mood phase. Mood phase changes can occur at intervals of weeks, months, or even years.
The severity of an attack of depression or mania in each case is strictly individual.
Symptoms of mania include:
- An excessive sense of happiness, optimism and excitement.
- Sudden change of joyful state of irritability, anger and hostility.
- Restlessness.
- Quick speech and inability to concentrate.
- Increased vigor and reduced need for sleep.
- Enhance sexual attraction.
- Tendency to the compilation of grandiose plans and impossible tasks.
- Tendency to misjudgment, for example, the decision to quit a new job.
- Alcohol or drug abuse.
- Increased impulsiveness.
Manic depression is also characterized by psychopathic attacks, for example, people see or hear non-existent things, believe in them and it is impossible to convince them of the opposite. In some cases, they believe that they possess supernatural powers and powers, or consider themselves to be Godlike.
Symptoms of depression include:
- Sadness
- Prostration.
- Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness.
- Complete indifference to once favorite activities.
- Inability to concentrate.
- Increased tearfulness.
- Difficult to make a decision.
- Irritability.
- Increased need for sleep.
- Insomnia.
- Change in appetite causing weight gain or loss.
- Thoughts of suicide.
- Attempts to commit suicide.
How is manic depression diagnosed?
Manic depression is diagnosed unmistakably only when monitoring for the symptoms of the disease, the complexity of their manifestation, their duration and frequency. The most common symptoms include mood swings, which always happen in different ways. If your relatives and friends keep a diary of your symptoms, this will help the doctor make an accurate diagnosis and distinguish acute depression from bipolar disorder.
If you or people close to you have manic depression, you should seek help from a family doctor or psychiatrist. He, in turn, will give you a referral to the appropriate specialist.
During the diagnosis, the doctor must conduct a thorough medical examination. The doctor will ask about mental illness in your family. If the patient experiences four or more bouts of mood swings per year, it will be more difficult for him to recover. In bipolar disorder, the main method of treatment will be the use of medications, but simultaneous attendance of psychotherapy sessions will help the patient to avoid future attacks.
How to examine?
Who to contact?
How is manic depression treated?
There are a large number of medications used in the treatment of such disorders as manic depression, including lithium and depakot.
Lithium
Lithium is a mood stabilizing agent and the most commonly prescribed medication for the treatment of bipolar disorder. It is effective in treating mood swings with both mania depressed and vice versa. Lithium is able to ease the symptoms of mania within two weeks after the start of its reception, but the patient may need several weeks or months to fully control the situation. Therefore, for a more rapid effect, it is possible to use drugs such as antipsychotics or antidepressants.
Side effects of lithium:
- Frequent urination
- Weight gain
- Slight hand shake
- Nausea
Lithium has a tendency to influence the work of the kidneys and the thyroid gland, therefore during its reception the doctor will monitor your health and control the level of lithium in the blood. Any factor affecting sodium levels in the blood, such as a diet with low salt intake, increased sweating, fever, vomiting, or diarrhea, can cause lithium levels in the blood to rise. Be careful with lithium and as soon as you have symptoms of the conditions described above, consult a doctor.
Below, we suggest that you become familiar with the symptoms of lithium overdose and advise you to consult a doctor immediately if:
- Impaired vision
- Arrhythmic pulse is heard
- The heartbeat has become too fast or too slow.
- It's hard to breathe
- Distraction appeared
- Convulsions appeared
- Dizziness
- Trembling violently
- Frequent urination
- There was an uncontrolled eye movement.
- In the eyes began to divide in two
- Bruises and bleeding for no apparent reason
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The guy
Depakot is an anticonvulsant that is also used in the treatment of seizures of mania. It is highly effective in treating bipolar cyclical disorder. This drug has a number of side effects, which include inflammation of the liver and a decrease in the level of platelets in the blood (blood cells that are responsible for blood clotting), so during its reception you will be under the supervision of a doctor.
The side effects of depakota include:
- Increased calm.
- Gastric cramps.
- Diarrhea
- Stomach upset.
- Nausea
- Gaining weight.
- A slight tremor in the hands.
Most patients with bipolar disorder take more than one medication. Together with a mood stabilizer, they can take drugs for arousal, anxiety, insomnia, or depression.
Many antidepressants can be used in conjunction with mood stabilizers in the treatment of a depressive bipolar disorder. If antidepressants are taken without mood stabilizers, they can cause an attack of mania and, according to recent studies, cause suicidal behavior.
What to expect after the manic depression passes?
In most cases, a good treatment plan helps patients cope with the attack and control the symptoms. If the treatment continues as supportive, in this way the patient can save himself from repeated attacks. If the patient also suffers from alcohol and drug addiction, then it will take him much longer to alleviate the symptoms of the disease.
First signs of suicidal behavior
- The presence of a large number of symptoms of depression (change of appetite, sleep disturbance, etc.).
- Social fenced off.
- Talk about suicide, helplessness and hopelessness.
- A vivid expression of subconscious feelings (sexual, behavioral).
- Life threatening behavior.
- Frequent accidents.
- Paying attention to horrible and negative topics.
- Talk about death.
- Increased tearfulness or inability to express feelings emotionally.
- Distribution of their own things.