Bipolar disorder - forced to experience a "roller coaster" life of ice and fire, often confused with depression

May the roller coaster of life for bipolar patients run smoothly, and allow them to experience a more wonderful life with a better emotional state.

The weather in nature is unpredictable, and so are people's emotions.

Sometimes people's mood is like a clear sky, full of happiness and relaxation; sometimes it is like a dark cloud, feeling lost and depressed.

Such emotional fluctuations are actually very normal and will hardly affect our daily life and work.

But there is a type of people whose mood swings are like a five-star dangerous roller coaster. When they are happy, they feel full of energy and omnipotent, so excited that they can even stay awake for three days and three nights, as if they have reached the peak of their lives; but when they are depressed, they not only feel that they have accomplished nothing and have no motivation, but are also unwilling to participate in social activities, and even feel negative and pessimistic about the world. The whole world is black and gray, and they feel very helpless.

People with such a "double life" are called "genius disease" patients. Many famous people in history, such as Picasso, Van Gogh, Newton, etc., suffered from this disease. However, this so-called "genius disease" does not make people geniuses, but makes people experience back and forth in the emotional world of ice and fire.

It is "bipolar disorder", an emotional illness. It is often confused with depression, but it is different from depression.

Let us learn more about this disease today!

Bipolar disorder: Emotions can also be sick

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive disorder, is a mental disorder characterized by abnormally high or low emotions. The cause is still unclear. It has two main manifestations: manic state and depressive state. It can occur alternately in the same patient, or it can occur repeatedly in one state. It is cyclical and releasable. During the intermittent period, the patient's mental activity is completely normal and generally does not show personality defects.

Symptoms of bipolar disorder often include persistent sadness or anxiety, loss of interest in once-loved activities, excessive crying spells, irritability, decreased ability to pay attention and make decisions, low energy, suicidal thoughts, feelings of guilt, helplessness, or hopelessness, changes in weight or appetite, changes in sleep, social withdrawal, and physical symptoms (such as chronic pain, headaches) that are not relieved by standard treatments.

The difference between bipolar disorder and depression

Depression, also known as unipolar depression, and bipolar disorder are two very common mental illnesses. The former is accompanied by mania during depressive episodes, while the latter is accompanied by mania during depressive episodes.

Because most bipolar disorder patients begin with a depressive episode, and early identification of bipolar disorder mainly relies on clinical manifestations, it is often confused with depression. According to statistics, about 60% of bipolar disorder patients have been misdiagnosed as depression, and more than 1/3 of bipolar disorder patients need at least 10 years to be diagnosed.

If depression and bipolar disorder are not distinguished in time, it will seriously affect the patient's treatment and prognosis. Generally, the two can be distinguished from the following aspects:

Age of onset: The average age of onset for patients with depression is about 26.5 years old, while the onset age of patients with bipolar disorder is usually earlier than that of patients with depression, with the peak age being 15-20 years old.

Disease course: The first onset of bipolar patients is often short-lived, which to some extent shows that the depressive symptoms of bipolar patients at the time of the first onset are self-limited. However, the first onset of depression in patients is longer.

Relapse rate: The relapse rate of bipolar disorder is much higher than that of depression. Studies have shown that patients who have more than 5 relapses tend to have a more bipolar tendency.

Biological rhythm: When bipolar patients are ill, the characteristic of "worse in the morning and lighter in the evening" is much more obvious than that of patients with depression.

If there is no clear history of manic episodes or antidepressant drugs are not effective, and the patient has the following characteristics, the possibility of bipolar disorder should be considered.

Early onset of symptoms (25 years or earlier);

A family history of bipolar disorder;

Depression attacks occur suddenly and occur more than 5 times;

Mood instability;

Easily irritated;

Poor concentration;

Sleep and weight gain, etc.

Living in a "roller coaster" life with a "lion" living in your heart that can explode at any time is a pain that normal people cannot experience.

May the roller coaster of life for bipolar patients run smoothly, and allow them to experience a more wonderful life with a better emotional state.