Teens With Bipolar Disorder

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Teens with Bipolar Disorder are usually diagnosed harder because the mood swings are normal for adolescents. Both men and women are known to have the disorder and usually it's detected in adulthood. Studies have shown that Teens with Bipolar Disorder have other symptoms than adults. While adults can encounter a variety of symptoms, teens experience rapid mood changes and irritability. Because the disorder affects the brain, patients are affected mentally: the think differently, the feel other emotions and they don't act in a normal way. Teens with Bipolar Disorder must understand that this is a serious condition and it should be treated medically.

There are some symptoms that people need to look for. Teens with Bipolar Disorder go from extreme happiness to severe depression. This can happen to persons that are not affected by the bipolar disorder, but in those who are ill the symptoms are more intense and they alternate rapidly. They can go from being very happy and energetic (mania) to having thoughts about suicide or anxiety. In adults, these variations can happen in long periods, weeks or months, but in Teens with Bipolar Disorder the mood swings can take place in short periods of time. A teen suffering from the disorder can have both mania and depression in one day. The emotions are usually experienced for no particular reason, or for simple things that take huge proportions in the mind of the patient. The alternation period can be interrupted by a short or long period of normality, but in women and Teens with Bipolar Disorder the normality period doesn't exist.

The causes for the appearance of bipolar disorder are unknown, but doctors have a few theories. Genes have an important role, if someone in the family suffers from bipolar disorder; the chances of developing the condition are higher. But this is just a theory and it never been proved. In some cases the disorder appeared because some mothers drank alcohol or smoked tobacco during the pregnancy. Teens with Bipolar Disorder have symptoms during puberty and it's more commonly to girls experiencing their first menstrual cycle.

Sadly, the disorder is hard to detect. Only trained psychiatrists can properly diagnose these kind of disorders and in most countries, because of lack of trained people, people are rarely diagnosed. Teens with Bipolar Disorder that live untreated end up in juvenile correction institutes or mental institutes because the disorder can grow if left untreated.

Teens with Bipolar Disorder can be stabilized trough some treatments, even if the disorder can never be completely cured. The most common treatments are including a mix of medications and therapy.