An Overview of Adolescent Bipolar Disorder

Posted By Ken P Doyle
Categoirzed Under: Mental Health
Comments (0)
by Ken P Doyle

Millions of people all over the world are affected by bipolar disorder. It is assumed that out of these millions, majority of them are adults. On the other hand, adolescents hold a significant percentage of those struggling with bipolar disorder and this adds a massive complexity to their lives. This is due to the fact that not only do they have to deal with the common struggles that every teenager goes through but they also have to contend with the serious symptoms of bipolar disease and adolescent bipolar disorder.

Outlining Bipolar Disorder

Severe mood swings are the usual reference given when mentioning bipolar disorder which was originally named manic-depressive disorder. The mood swings usually range from an elevated sense of euphoria (mania) to a severe low cycle of the depressive phase. Common knowledge of the euphoria phase is seen as a stage of excitement and minor anxiety whereas the depressive phase is seen as utter sadness or fatigue. In reality, both these phases are extremely serious and are known to affect energy levels, decision-making, cognitive functions, concentration, and other critical capabilities needed to carry out the essential functions of life.

While bipolar disorder is a serious psychiatric condition, it is not untreatable. Often, outpatient prescription therapy and counseling can help alleviate many of the negative effects of bipolar disease. However, this can be a challenge for adults. For adolescents, bipolar disorder brings further complexities.

The Onset of Bipolar Disease and Adolescent Bipolar Disorder

It is a fact that bipolar disorder starts developing in the late teen or early adult years in most people. Although it is rare for bipolar to develop in children and young teens, it is possible and has happened a lot. Early Onset Bipolar Disorder is what it’s called and the mood swings are more frequent because of the lack of emotional development in the adolescent.

How Can a Parent Detect Adolescent Bipolar Disease and Adolescent Bipolar Disorder?

Adolescents share many of the same symptoms that an adult will display. Noticeable symptoms common in both of them include lacking a clear attention span, severe mood swings, lethargy, extreme excitement and talkativeness, and displaying a very depressed or sad mood are all signs of the disorder.

Behavior at school can also be affected by these symptoms. Is your adolescent having trouble making and maintaining friends? Have their grades started to slip? And has he/she been involved in a few disciplinary incidents? These situations could indicate the possible presence of bipolar disorder.

Of course, a parent will not know for sure unless the adolescent is properly diagnosed by a qualified mental health professional. Usually, a board certified psychiatrist would be the most reliable source for a diagnosis. However, it is critical that parents do not make decisions as to whether or not an adolescent had a serious mental disorder. Doing so would only inhibit the youth from receiving the proper treatment.

Getting to Know Which Treatments Work

Combination of medical treatment and therapy is generally what treatment for bipolar involves. Prescribed medications such as anti-depressants, mood stabilizers, and anti-anxiety prescriptions are usually given. The treatment for adolescent bipolar may last for many years and will most likely be carried into adulthood. Regardless of this, the primary concern here is not the duration of the treatment. Patients should rather focus on utilizing their treatment to establish a normal life with the least amount of problems that come from the condition. For both adults and adolescents, this is true.

About the Author:

Relieve Pressure and Panic with Meditation

Posted By Stephen Jablonski
Categoirzed Under: Depression
Comments (0)
by Stephen Jablonski

A simple description of meditation would be to say it’s a technique we can use to focus our attention away from the random thoughts that fill our daily lives and onto the truly meaningful parts of our lives. Through meditation, one can achieve great tranquility. This tranquility is very useful to us as we fight against the stress, anxiety, and panic that face us every day.

Yet while most people have heard about meditation, a relative few have really tried it. This is mostly because meditation is perceived as a mysterious art. One that takes a great deal of time and dedication to master. So people are intimidated and never really try it because they think it’s too difficult. This is wrong thinking.

Meditation is actually a simple art to learn. To practice it you only need some time and a relatively quiet space. It requires nothing else really except your presence and attention. And after only one or two sessions, you can actually begin to experience its calming benefits.

To start out, I think it’s best to try to find some competent instruction somewhere. Look for an organized class. It’s always better to have a teacher who′s “been there” to help you avoid the wrong turns. Local community organizations like community colleges, churches, or organizations like the YMCA are great, low cost places to find some beginning instruction.

And don’t forget your library. You’ll find many titles about meditation at any well-stocked library. Books have the advantage of giving you great depth on the subject and they can also get you going rather fast. But their disadvantage is that they can only guide you so far and they can’t help you make corrections or changes.

Audio CDs and DVDs are an excellent way to get started with meditation. They provide more guidance by actually leading you into and through each meditation session. This gives you a more “full-bodied” experience and leads to a deeper practice and understanding which leads to more anxiety relief benefits.

Breathing meditations are the usual first meditations learned by beginners. These are easy to learn and they give you a quick understanding of what meditation feels like. Depending on your desire, you can move into more advanced forms of meditating like full-body meditations or conceptual or emotional meditations. The more time you spend in meditation, the more tranquility you feel.

The practice of meditation is a very old and studied art. It’s been around for 1,000′s of years because it yields real benefits. It’s a truly effective method for dealing with stress, anxiety, and even panic attacks. So I’d recommend that you give it a try. After all, it’s easy to do, doesn’t cost much, and it could mean a great difference in your life.

About the Author:

Diabetic Weight Loss Diet

Posted By Brian Stratmore
Categoirzed Under: Depression
Comments (0)
by Dan Reto

The problems of diabetes can be treated to diminish symptoms if the proper steps are taken. More and more individuals are suffering from diabetes yearly, and it is important for people (both diabetics and non diabetics) to control their eating and workout habits.

Exercise helps your body in using insulin more effectively so that your bodies’ glucose is converted into energy for cells. Now, apart from exercising, as mentioned before, it is important to keep a healthy diet for diabetics. People with diabetes tend to notice that they gain weight much easier than people who do not have diabetes. No worries though, as there are diets that can help you.

Broadly Speaking, diabetics should try to have around 1200 calories per day. This is just an approximation though, and may vary depending on factors such as age, sex, size, etc It is also important to eat very regularly. Do not go on for more than 3 to 4 hours without eating.

This will help keep your cravings down throughout the day. This is much better than not eating for 10 hours and then end up having an eating rage. On another note, it is crucial to have at least 45 minutes to an hour worth of exercise per day, or at least 5 times a week (for those who have a busy schedule).

Try to select a diet that is reasonable for you. Do not pick something that you know you will not be able to go through with. A diet takes commitment, and realistically, some diets are REALLY hard to follow, so make sure it is something you can stick with. It is important to not give up if you do not see results after a couple of weeks. Diets are not meant to show huge results within weeks. Diets take time to work, so do not give up!

About the Author:

Signs and Symptoms of Anxiety Panic Disorder: Learn to Spot Them!

Posted By Cathy Shermann
Categoirzed Under: Depression
Comments (0)
by Cathy Shermann

To treat the condition properly, it is important to know signs and symptoms of anxiety panic disorder. A wrong diagnosis can easily lead you to improper treatment which may just be as dangerous as leaving the real condition untreated.

Not The Heart - For people who have experienced it the first time, they are likely to think that they have gone through a heart attack. It is important to know the signs and symptoms so you don’t confuse it with having a heart attack, and instead end up not being treated properly for the right ailment.

What is panic disorder? Panic disorder is a medical term used to describe the psychiatric condition that is characterized by frequent or habitual panic attacks in combination with significant behavioral changes, of at least a month of continuing and enduring worrying about the concern and fear of having another panic attack.

Now, know what panic attacks are. Since panic disorder describes frequent panic attacks, then you should know what a panic attack is. A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense anxiety that brings about feelings of fear, unease and discomfort. Its onset is generally abrupt, and could occur without any obvious triggers.

Signs and Symptoms - Here are some signs and symptoms of a panic attack. Physically, the person may experience dizziness leading to panic, tightening of chest and throat, shortness of breath, choking, racing heart, tingle sensations, nausea, lightheadedness, crying, sweating, trembling or shaking, abdominal pains, hyperventilation, hot or cold flashes, exhaustion, physical limpness or weakness, and repeated tensing of muscles.

Fear of the Fear - Mentally, the individual experiences strong and/or frightening realizations of reality, loss of cognitive ability, loud internal dialogue, racing thoughts, obsessive worrying, nervousness and the overwhelming fear that something terrible is about to occur. Also, the person feels like he is “going crazy″, facing impending doom, and out of control. He feels anti-social and feels like he is being threatened by something, although there is nothing threatening around him. The sufferer also has feelings of death and dying.

These are not the only signs and symptoms. Keep in mind that these sensations, as terrible and uncomfortable as they are, will pass. A panic attack is not medically dangerous, and is instead physically harmless. However, if you want to get rid of these sensations, then you have many options of treatment nowadays. You can get treated easily now. There are some books and programs that teach you techniques on how to cope and deal with a panic attack once you experience an episode. However, you can always choose to permanently get rid of the panic attack. You can do this by learning how to stop the fear of another panic attack. Since a panic disorder is accompanied with lasting worry, concern and fear of having another attack, then what you can do is stop the fear in its tracks. Learn how to stop fearing another panic attack.

About the Author:

Harmful effects of stress

Posted By Jeff Cline
Categoirzed Under: Depression
Comments (0)
by Jeff Cline

Stress takes a toll on our bodies and minds. It can be very harmful to our well being. It is proven that it can cause us to be physically ill. It breaks down or immunities, increases wrinkles and can make our hair turn gray way before it’s time.

Not only can stress have a major impact on you physically it can also affect your emotional state. Stress can make you irritable, impatient and down right angry. It can make us forgetful and we just do not think straight when we are stressed.

One thing that stress can impact and should not be ignored is the medical conditions it can actually lead to. Frequent headaches, aches and pains. High blood pressure, weight gain, diabetes, digestive and respiratory problems. Mental disorders, hormone imbalance as well as frequent colds.

It is imporatant to recognize negative stress and how you relate to it. You need to recognize how you handle the stress. You do not want to ignore the red flags of stress and wait until it has caused so much physical and mental damage that it is no longer under control.

Stress naturally occurs through out life. We can not avoid stress all the time. We can not control a death or a job loss all the time. A serious accident or financial woes can not always be avoided. This is why it is more important to learn coping skills to lessen the affects of stress.

While we can not fix the situations sometimes we can do things to minimize the stress on ourselves. Different things work for different folks. You just have to try some and see what works best for you. Maybe it is medication or yoga, physical exercise or breathing techniques and maybe even counseling or a support group.

Stress has many different faces. Yu should learn to recognize all of them. Stress can come from a more emotional side. Guilt, worry, self defeat and jeolusy can all impose stress. It could also be physicall such as no sleep, working too many hours or excessive alcohol use.

In conclusion stress can change who we are as a person. We do not have to let stress rule us though. we can find positive ways to meet the challenges of the stressors that present themselves in our lives. We can learn to reduce stress and in essence prolong our lives and live happily ever after.

About the Author: