Studying Psychology discussion

Bipolar disorder (also known as manic depression) is a disease; it is a medical condition that causes psychological problems to such a degree that daily functioning is hampered by the symptoms. The most prominent symptoms include extremes of mood known as depression and mania. These emotional extremes are usually beyond normal responses to events and often last for extended periods of time. Psychosis and suicide are also concerns for those diagnosed with this disorder.

Heather wrote: "I’m not allowed to drive anymore. They say I’m a danger to ‘myself and/or to society’. Whatever that means. I took the class, I passed the test, I can drive—have a perfect record, too. My mom pick..."

I'm not sure what you are writing here...a personal experience or what?

I just have one question...I've seen people with bipolar disorder driving, are there different levels or types of bipolar disorder?

This is true, on the right medications and with psychotherapy, people with bipolar disorder can lead a totally normal life. And that includes driving. The only time the driving privileges are taken away is when the person is hostile and has exhibited signs of being suicidal or homicidal. Once that person is 'stabilized', the privileges are once again restored.

Heather wrote: "This is true, on the right medications and with psychotherapy, people with bipolar disorder can lead a totally normal life. And that includes driving. The only time the driving privileges are taken..."

ok that makes sense...thanks :)

but you know sometimes even with medications and psychotheray..they do crisis ......
i had a student taht have mental illness and the psychiatrist said that hse has bipolar disorder...she has 13 years old..she was so violent and depressive when she had the crisis....

That's true, too, Marcelle.
When they 'crisis' do you mean they have an episode? Because some people with bipolar are very medication resistant and are rapid cyclers difficult to stabilize. It sounds like your student might be like that. Yes, bipolar people can be very violent when they are in a manic phase, and even depressed they tend to want to exhibit self-harm tendencies.

Heather wrote: "That's true, too, Marcelle.
When they 'crisis' do you mean they have an episode? Because some people with bipolar are very medication resistant and are rapid cyclers difficult to stabilize. It soun..."

What stimulates a crisis in BP?

sometimes nothing and sometinmes something not so important...it depends

I just learned a new term and wondered if anyone can explain it

Cyclothymia?

That's a good term. Had to look it up:
Cyclothymic disorder is a mild form of bipolar disorder (manic depressive illness) in which a person has mood swings over a period of years that go from mild depression to euphoria and excitement.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhea...

I don't know if I've ever met anyone with this Cyclothymic disorder. Or if I have I didn't know it. It seems that it would be a lot harder to diagnose with the variance in moods being less severe. Would one really notice them?

Heather wrote: "That's a good term...."

I think that link explained it well...thank you Heather

I'm just unsure I comprehend what I'm reading correctly

before now, I was imagining that the cycle they keep mentioning is at least one month long...in mind I keep subconsciously referring to the menstrual cycle...but I'm sure I'm wrong...so how long or short the mood cycle is...can it be as short as seconds or minuets?

I’ve seen people getting angry and then after less than a minute they start laughing…is that considered a bipolar sign?

I found this interesting tidbit about a study that seems to link the BP disorder biologically. Kind of interesting...

Mitochondria and bipolar disorder

The Brain Health

You might have heard about mitochondria in your biology class. Studies say that these organelles are the ones which cause bipolar disorder. Mitochondria are organ like components which make up the human body cells. They help to provide energy to your cells during conversion process of glucose to energy. They are of different sizes, numbers, and shapes and are found in nearly all cytoplasm of cells which occur in plants, fungi, and animals. They are also seen sometimes in the unicellular organisms. Apart from their role of providing energy, mitochondria also have other responsibilities like steroid synthesis, cellular reproduction, and heat production to name some. These tiny structures are quite vital to the functioning of human body.

In the year 2004, there was a story published which was the first one to say that there was a link between bipolar disorder and mitochondria. The research said that there might be something which goes wrong during the entire process of energy conversion and this causes bipolar disorder. The study also says that genes that are involved during the proteins production which make up for the energy transfer are know to be down regulated in people who suffer from bipolar disorder.

One of leading researchers in the entire ordeal called Dr. Christine had published the report and said that there was a notable reduction in genes and this indicated the fact that there weren’t enough for mitochondria or ‘power plants’ in the individuals that were suffering from this disorder. Also, it could be possible that there were power plants but they weren’t functioning effectively.

Another study seen in journal Molecular Psychiatry said that there was a link between bipolar disorder and mitochondria. Team that was working on this study had engineered mice genetically and made them as carriers of the dysfunctioning mitochondria. Results said that the mice having dysfunctioning mitochondria displayed behavior that was similar to people who were suffering from bipolar disorder.

http://www.thebrainhealth.com/mitocho...