All Grown Up: Teen Bipolar And Mood Disorder
It is a common misconception that bipolar disorder only occurs in adults. In truth, bipolar disorder is not limited to adults at all. The mental illness, also known as manic depression has been diagnosed in babies, children, and teens alike. In fact, teen bipolar and mood disorder is not at all uncommon, and is increasing every year.
For parents, it can be difficult to stand by and watch your teenager go through teen bipolar and mood disorder during their adolescent years. Family support is key in helping them cope—just being aware of the symptoms, prognosis, and potential medications can be immensely helpful in supporting an adolescent with bipolar disorder.
What Are The Symptoms of Teen Bipolar and Mood Disorder
Unlike the distinct symptoms of bipolar disorder in children, the symptoms of teen bipolar and mood disorder strongly resemble those of adult sufferers. The two types of bipolar disorder that a teen might experience are Bipolar I and Bipolar II.
Bipolar I causes an adolescent to alternate between episodes of intense mania and depression. The symptoms of Bipolar I include: decreased need for sleep, poor judgement, grandiose delusions, elevated mood, and in severe cases, hallucinations.
Adolescents with teen bipolar and mood disorder often get involved in risky activities, displaying racing speech, increased mental and physical activity. Other symptoms include agitation and irritability, change in appetite, thoughts of death and suicide, sadness and crying spells, and low energy. It is common for the adolescent to seem relatively healthy in between the episodes.
For Bipolar II adolescents, the disorder presents with a cycle of recurrent depression interspersed with episodes of hypomania. The symptoms of depression are similar to those in Bipolar I. Periods of hypomania are known to be times of great creativity for people who suffer from bipolar disorder.
Getting Better?
It is common for symptoms of adult bipolar disorder to begin presenting themselves in the late teenage years. Unfortunately, adolescents who experience an early onset of symptoms usually experience a more severe form of bipolar disorder, requiring a longer recovery time.
Suicide is a common risk associated with bipolar disorder, particularly in depressive cycles, and this risk is even more critical when referring to bipolar disorder in adolescents. Talk of death or not wanting live should be taken extremely seriously!
Keeping Control
Scientists and doctors have not yet agreed on the best method of treatment for teen bipolar and mood disorder. Most are waiting to determine which treatment method is best for adults before making a recommendation for teens. However, there are medications that help adolescents with teen bipolar and mood disorder to live a fairly normal life.
After all, isn’t that what any teenager wants?
