Catherine Zeta-Jones recently announced that she has Bipolar Disorder. This has prompted a lot of discussion about what Bipolar Disorder is and how it is treated.
I’ll go over some things that are good to know about Bipolar Disorder. The hallmark of Bipolar disorder is a pattern of dramatic mood shifts.
The low moods include these well-known signs of depression: sleep and appetite changes, sadness, irritability, loss of energy, hopelessness, loss of interest in activities, trouble making decisions, concentrating, and memory, and thoughts of death.
High moods may reflect mania, or its milder form, hypomania. Symptoms of mania include less need for sleep, being extremely talkative, having a lot of ideas that are grand and unrealistic, making impulsive decisions, risky behavior, and racing thoughts.
There are very effective ways to treat Bipolar Disorder. Therapy can be helpful by giving people skills at managing their mood changes and keeping their moods stable. There are many medications specifically targeted for mood stability.
If you think you have symptoms of Bipolar Disorder, know that effective help is available. Catherine Zeta-Jones’ announcement may help a lot of people see signs of this in themselves and prompt them to get the help they need.
Click here for a link to an ABC News story about Zeta-Jones’ announcement:
Click here for a link to Bipolar Disorder information from the National Institute of Mental Health:
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/bipolar-disorder/complete-index.shtml