What do you know about Bipolar Disorder?
Bipolar Disorder can be disruptive to a person’s life, but it need not be a dominating force.
In light of World Bipolar Day, which happened on 30 March, it is important to know about bipolar and the effects it can have.
According to the World Health Organisation Bipolar Disorder, is a prevalent mental health condition affecting approximately 60 million people worldwide.
Bipolar disorder, formerly called manic depression, is a mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings that include emotional highs (mania or hypomania) and lows (depression).
When you become depressed, you may feel sad or hopeless and lose interest or pleasure in most activities. When your mood shifts to mania or hypomania (less extreme than mania), you may feel extremely happy or excited, full of energy or unusually irritable. These mood swings can affect sleep, energy, activity, judgement, behaviour and the ability to think clearly.
Karen Bradford, Psychologist from the Pure Health Centre in Krugersdorp, has shared a light about bipolar.
“It’s important to remember that people living with bipolar disorder often self medicate with alcohol and drugs. This often leads to addiction and destruction of their lives. It is so important to seek medical treatment and therapeutic management to help people balance their lives through treatment,” Karen said.
There are different support structures that, if put in place and available to those needing it, can aid in the recovery of people with Bipolar Disorder. According to the South African Depression and Anxiety Group, treatment can take the form of the provision of medication, psychotherapy, family support groups or periodic hospitalisation as a last resort.
According to the South African Federation For Mental Health (SAFMH), one of the reasons that people with Bipolar Disorder remain underserved is because of prevailing societal stigma. In general, little is known about the fact that Bipolar Disorder can be managed and a perception exists that people who have this illness are capricious, unreliable and incapable.
SAFMH strongly dissents from these notions. People with Bipolar Disorder can be strong, resilient and successful in all aspects of life, including relationships, education and employment.
More public education and awareness is urgently required if we are going to start dispelling the stigma surrounding Bipolar Disorder.
