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Imagine your friend introduces you to a new member in you theater actor’s guild. In no time at all, she catches everyone’s attention with her energy and extraordinary cheeriness. After the nights practice has finished, your new found friend out of the blue invites you to go to the disco. You decide you can not go but give her your home number instead. Later that night, you awake to a call and here her sobbing on the phone. She is going on about how miserable her life is and how she just wants to end it right than and there. There is nobody that would want to be in this situation but what you have just read about is the reality of a brain disorder called bipolar mania or manic-depressive illness.

About Bipolar Mania

Bipolar mania is a biological disorder characterized by manic as well as depressive episodes. As described above, a person with bipolar disorder shows symptoms of extreme exhilaration at one moment then severe depression the next instant. In particular, manic signs and symptoms include amplified energy, disturbing behavior, poor judgment, restiveness, and a reduced need for sleep. Meanwhile, the depressive state is recognized by feelings of hopelessness, intense grief, and loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities among others. What is alarming about bipolar mania is that an individual may resort to suicide if it goes unattended.

Statistics have shown that bipolar mania is affecting a significant number of individuals in the United States alone. It’s a staggering 5.7 million of the total population. Should you or anyone of the people you know have bipolar, you need to get ready with all the vital information especially on how you can be of best help to them.

Treatment

Even if bipolar mania is a long-term challenge, the condition can be treated through a combination of approaches. One is through the medical method. The medications available for this condition are termed as mood stabilizers. The most common is Lithium (Eskalith, Lithobid) while others are prescribed with anticonvulsant medicines such as valproate (Depakote) or carbamazepine (Tegretol). In addition, individuals with bipolar mania also see mental health professionals for cognitive or behavioral psychotherapy. Lastly, psychosocial approaches to bipolar mania are deemed important to recovery as it involves family therapy, psycho education, and interpersonal therapy.

Bipolar Support Groups

Then again, if the medical and psychological approach is not used in conjunction with the other methods then it will not be successful. It is an invaluable resource for an individual with bipolar mania to join bipolar support groups. Various discussions about the disorder are made in depth in these bipolar support groups, making them very educational. Sharing of true-to-life experiences is also done apart from the information and this makes the group relate well to each other.

Bipolar support groups offer a hospitable environment to bipolar sufferers so that they won’t have to feel alone and alienated from the rest of the world. They also offer the opportunity to openly speak about their pains and hardships and at the same time gaining acceptance from others. The bipolar support group can brainstorm about local resources and acquiring government aid together.

Intelligent Prognosis

It’s important that a person with bipolar mania can or can not cope with the disorder. The real question though is whether they get into a bipolar support group which will see them through the process. This is the real determinant which has treatment value. Individuals with bipolar mania are on their way to a fully-functioning life with the right kind of help from the right kind of people.