Bipolar Disorder, Abnormal Psychology - Essay Example

? Bipolar Abnormal Psychology) Grade (15th, Oct. Bipolar Abnormal Psychology) Introduction Bipolar 1 is regarded as one of the most severe form of mental illness. It is a condition that has a high rate of recurrence, and thus it requires to be treated in good time, because it bears a high risk of death through suicide if it remains unaddressed for long (McLean Hospital, 2011). The dangers of this abnormal mental conditions lies in the fact that the individuals suffering from his disorder can swiftly shift from one mood to the other, ranging from mania to depression. The mood swings occur rapidly, and is always to the extremes of happiness and higher levels of energy, followed by a shift to highly observable sadness, inactivity and fatigue, as well as confusion (Bowden, 2001). These shifts works towards making the individual mentally unstable, thus granting them reasons to attempt risky activities, especially suicide, considering that they are unable to sustain the feelings of extreme happiness and energy for long, which are always disrupted by waves of sadness and fatigue, thus throwing an individual to utter confusion. However, while it is vital to consider that all individuals suffering from the bipolar disorder experience maniac episodes, where they feel high, happy and elevated, and then an irritable mood creeps in to distort their feeling of happiness and contention, it is not all of them who become depressed (Holmes, 2010). Therefore, the occurrence of depression definitely points to a different level of bipolar disorder, which is in most cases advanced and more dangerous, if it is not addressed effectively. Onset (before formal diagnosis) The onset of Bipolar 1 is almost a normal elevation of an individual’s character from a more reserved, shy and less confident individual, to the one that is more confident, energetic, with a sense of high self-esteem and very talkative (Lane, 2007). In fact, to those who do not know the individual well, they may not even understand that the individual is suffering from any disorder, considering that the individual will just seem to be more confident, highly energized and talkative. Therefore, the individual will seem to believe in every decision and move that he/she chooses to take, without seeking for more affirmations from others (Holmes, 2010). The individual depicting such characteristics may be at the initial stage of this disorder, commonly referred to as bipolar II, which is less severe and does not depict any extremes to both the elevated happiness or depression and sadness (Lane, 2007). Therefore, it would be difficult to tell the difference between an individual suffering from bipolar at this stage, or the one who is experiencing a major high point of his/her life, or the one suffering from a major depression, in terms of portraying happiness or sadness respectively. Therefore, the difference between bipolar I and bipolar II, which is often confused for normalcy, is that the individual suffering from bipolar II only exudes mild forms of mania often referred to as hypomania, while the one suffering from bipolar I exudes symptoms of full mania, which are conspicuously extreme elevations or irritations (McLean Hospital, 2011). Criteria according to DSM-IV-TR The DSM-IV-TR criteria is a classification system of categorizing disorders, which entails the use of prototypes that have been assigned certain disorders, and a patient, whose characterization are then classified approximately to the those of the prototype (Bowden, 2001). The DSM-IV-TR criteria does not assume that different categories of mental disorders are completely discrete entities with well established boundaries, but it gives the categorization by avoiding symptoms that are unlisted for a given mental disorder (Holmes, 2010). The system applies some form of qualifiers, which would range from mild to severe, in order to be able to categorize the mental disorders appropriately, especially when such disorders depicts similar symptoms, only with differing degrees of severity. Therefore, bipolar I must exude extremes of happiness, elevation and energy on the upper side, while exuding depression, sadness and irritation on the lower side (McLean Hospital, 2011). The DSM-IV-TR criteria requires that the disorders being categorized must show symptoms that are adequate to create substantial clinical impairment or distress in vital areas of human functioning, such as social and occupational functionalities (Lane, 2007). Thus, bipolar I must indicate significant impairments in social and occupational functions, such as the high levels of talkativeness, high confidence and bizarre self-esteem or non-socialization and depression under the social function. Under the occupational function, high levels of hyperactivity, lack of sleep, loss of appetite and lack of concentration on a single task would point to this disorder (McLean Hospital, 2011). Each disorder category is then allocated a given numeric code, which is used for health purposes and also for administrative functions. Thus, within the procedural coding system that is applied by the DSM-IV-TR criteria, the bipolar disorder falls in axis IV, which is the category of the mental disorders contributed to, by the environmental and psychosocial factors (Lane, 2007). Considering that the DSM-IV-TR criteria system is completed for the administrative application of federal mandates, it requires that the individuals applying it should be highly clinically trained, considering that only then, can the individual be able to understand the procedural coding (McLean Hospital, 2011). Under the DSM-IV-TR criteria system, a diagnosis that is shared among several categories of disorder may have different causes or may require different treatment, thus prompting this system to avoid any conclusive information on causes and treatment. In the same breath, under the DSM-IV-TR criteria system, bipolar I share the same platform with other mental disorders such as depression, autism spectrum disorders, anxiety disorders and anorexia nervosa (Bowden, 2001). Differential Diagnosis Differential diagnosis helps to differentiate one mental disorder from the other, especially in a system of disorder categorization such as the DSM-IV-TR criteria system, which does not give specific diagnosis of a single mental disorder, rather preferring to put many disorders under the same category, for further diagnosis and symptom specification. This can effectively be done using a case study. A case study in point: The case study of Susie Mental disorder occurs in various forms, which are then classified differently, depending on the causes and the severity of the disorders. Therefore, the application of a case study is relevant to help demonstrate this, especially when it comes to the issue of identification and diagnosis of an individual suffering from a mental disorder. The case study involves Susan, a 20-year-old lady in her second year of college. She has gone without sleep for the past five days, and has been spending her time in heightened activities, which she describes by herself as “out of control” (Cooper, 2013). She has adapted grandiosity that features sexual tones, even telling her friends that she missed her menstruation because she belongs to a third gender, which borders between male and female. She believes that she is a superwoman, capable of continuing the procreation and giving birth of children without the involvement of another gender (Cooper, 2013). She has also been fancying political ideas, often wanting to be the one capable of saving the world from nuclear destruction. Thus, she has formulated her theory of accomplishing this, and she is often writing notes all over the place, whether in her notebook, her computer, on the wall or any other place that she finds worth writing. In addition, she has changed from the ones organized and tidy lady, who kept her room neat, to being that carefree woman who no longer has any regard for tidiness and neatness. This trend is worrying her friends and family, since it has now gone to a level that is unanticipated. She has had two previous episodes of bizarre activities, often alternated with depression (Cooper, 2013). When she was depressed, she could not attend lectures, eat or perform any normal duties, while sleeping was also a problem to her. At the lowest points of her previous bizarre episodes, she had contemplated suicide (Cooper, 2013). Analysis The case study above presents symptoms that are shared by various mental disorders. To establish which disorder Susan is suffering from, it is vital to start associating different symptoms with different disorders; to find out which disorder specifically matches all the symptoms depicted (Bowden, 2001). While her symptoms share the same platform with other mental disorders such as depression, autism spectrum disorders, anxiety disorders and anorexia nervosa, it is evident that she is not suffering from anorexia nervosa, because that entails the fear of eating to avoid becoming fat, which does not entail other symptoms such as the waves of elevation and depression depicted by Susan. The other possible mental that Susan could be suffering is anxiety disorder. However, anxiety disorders do not entail any form of extreme happiness and bizarre ideas like the ones depicted by Susan, such as considering herself a superwoman capable of giving birth without involving another gender (Cooper, 2013). An autism spectrum disorder is yet another mental disorder that could be associated with Susan’s behavior. We don’t know if Susan could have been suffering from autism, causing the difficulties that she is experiencing in sleeping, as well as the level of hyperactivity she demonstrates. All these befit the description of an individual suffering from this autism. However, the fact that she is expressing these fancy ideas about being a superwoman, as well as wanting to be the one who will save the world from nuclear destruction eliminates autism as a mental disorder she could be suffering from. In addition, the symptoms also point to Susan either suffering from bipolar I or bipolar II. However, by applying the severity concept as advocated for by the DSM-IV-TR criteria, we find that Susan is too hyperactive, extremely elevated or depressed, to a point of having contemplated suicide. These alternating waves of happiness and depression are to the extremes, thus eliminating bipolar II as the possible disorder she could be suffering from since bipolar II does not exude any extremes of either elevation or depression, since it borders close to normalcy (Lane, 2007). Therefore, the differential diagnosis indicates that the disorder under this case, is bipolar I. Preferred treatment There are various methods that can be applied in the treatment of Bipolar I mental disorder. They include: Psychotherapy This is a method of treatment that is aimed at alleviating the core triggers of the disorder, while helping to address the symptoms, and thus alleviate a future recurrence of the disorder, due to the high risk of suicide posed by a recurrence of the bipolar I disorder in individuals (Lane, 2007). This method of treatment entails much involvement of the family, friends and the health professionals in conversations with the patient, to prevent them from focusing on their extremes of elevation or depression, while also understanding the triggers of the conditions and helping to resolve them. This way, a relapse of the patient can be avoided. Medication Medication is also highly effective in treating bipolar I, especially giving the patient a dose of lithium, which highly reduces the maniac episodes, thus enabling the patient to stabilize (Bowden, 2001). This goes a long way in reducing the eminent dangers of self-harm and suicide, which is mostly triggered by mood swings and alternating episodes of extreme happiness with extreme sadness. In addition, anti-convulsants such as sodium valproate and Lamotrigine have proved effective in treating this order, through reducing the episodes of maniac and preventing relapses (McLean Hospital, 2011). Depending on how severe the patient’s case is, both lithium and the anti-convulsants can be combined for treatment of the disorder. Critical evaluation of other factors involved in recovery Constant monitoring of the individuals suffering from the disorder is vital towards enhancing full recovery of the patient, considering that bipolar 1 is a disabling disorder (Bowden, 2001). Thus the factors requiring evaluation during recovery include functionality of the patient, where the ability of the patient to function as expected are evaluated, and the timely remedy offered incase a functional gap is observed. Reoccurrence is yet another factor that should be constantly evaluated to ensure that the alternating shifts of elevation and depression symptoms are addressed in good time, to avoid dire consequences on the patient. Finally, suicide ideation is another factor that requires evaluation, since it is highly possible with patients suffering from the disorder (Lane, 2007). References Bowden, C. L. (2001). "Strategies to reduce misdiagnosis of bipolar depression". Psychiatric services, 52 (1): 51–55. Cooper, T. (2013). The case study of Susie: Bipolar I Disorder. Criminology & Justice Digital Media USA Inc. http://criminologyjust.blogspot.com/2011/08/case-study-of-susie-bipolar-i-disorder.html#.Ul3c4Xpq114 Holmes, D. A. (2010). Introduction to abnormal psychology. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall. Lane, C. (2007). Shyness: How Normal Behavior Became a Sickness. Yale University Press. p. 263. McLean Hospital. (2011). Clinical unit base research: schizophrenia and bipolar disorder program. Retrieved from: http://www.mclean.harvard.edu/research/clinicalunit/sbdp.php Read More