Evidence is emerging that shows that bipolar patients who also abuse drugs or alcohol have an earlier onset and worse course of illness compared with those who do not. They are more likely to experience irritable and dysphoric mood states, increased treatment resistance, and a greater need for hospitalization.
Drugs with a definite propensity to cause manic symptoms include levodopa, corticosteroids and anabolic-androgenic steroids. Antidepressants of the tricyclic and monoamine oxidase inhibitor classes can induce mania in patients with pre-existing bipolar affective disorder.
“Although people with bipolar disorder may turn to drugs or alcohol out of a need to stabilize their moods,” Bening says, “engaging in substance abuse has the opposite effect, making the symptoms of bipolar disorder worse.” Substance abuse can make manic or depressive episodes last longer, or make their symptoms more ...
Substance-Induced Bipolar Disorder
Drugs can rewire other parts of the brain that affect mood and behavior. Drug abuse and addiction can cause changes in the brain that lead to bipolar disorder. Even people who were mentally healthy before their addiction can develop bipolar disorder.
Factors such as stress, poor sleep, and even seasonal changes can play a role in triggering your bipolar symptoms. Learn how you can reduce your risk of bipolar episodes and better manage your condition.
Bipolar Triggers and Warning Signs
Bipolar disorder features extreme shifts in mood that are unpredictable and often disruptive to daily functioning. Changes in sleep patterns, eating habits, emotions, and behaviors accompany the mood swings.
Although there is no official classification for end stage bipolar disorder, mild structural changes in the brain that lead to cognitive dysfunction can severely reduce someone's quality of life, especially toward the end of life.
Brain Changes
Research shows bipolar disorder may damage the brain over time. Experts think it's because you slowly lose amino acids. They help build the proteins that make up the insulation around your neurons.
Sleep, negative life events, drug and alcohol use, seasonal changes, the reproductive cycle, as well as goal attainment and positive events can all have a deleterious impact on your stability, triggering a destructive cycle of mood switching.
Steroids, levodopa and other dopaminergic agents, iproniazid, sympathomimetic amines, triazolobenzodiazepines and hallucinogens were the agents that most commonly induced manic syndromes. The most common characteristics of drug-induced manic episodes were increased activity, rapid speech, elevated mood, and insomnia.
Such overlaps occur in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, sometimes making it difficult to differentiate between the two. However, these conditions are distinct from one another, and they do not always co-occur. While bipolar disorder cannot develop into schizophrenia, it's possible to experience symptoms of both.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness states that over half of people with bipolar disorder (56 percent) have a history of illicit drug abuse, while 44 percent have abused or are dependent on alcohol.
People with bipolar disorder may try to manage the most severe changes in their mood and energy levels by self-medicating. They may use alcohol or marijuana to calm manic periods, and stimulants to raise mood during a depressive period.
You'll typically need mood-stabilizing medication to control episodes of mania or hypomania, which is a less severe form of mania. Examples of mood stabilizers include lithium (Lithobid), valproic acid (Depakene), divalproex sodium (Depakote), carbamazepine (Tegretol, Equetro, others) and lamotrigine (Lamictal).
Both the ADA and SSA consider bipolar disorder a disability. That qualifies you to get extra protection and benefits under the law. To start the process, talk with your doctor. You will need documents to prove to the government that bipolar disorder affects your ability to work.
People with bipolar disorder often experience irritability. This emotion is common during manic episodes, but it can occur at other times too. A person who's irritable is easily upset and often bristles at others' attempts to help them. They may be easily annoyed or aggravated with someone's requests to talk.
Bipolar disorder is frequently inherited, with genetic factors accounting for approximately 80% of the cause of the condition. Bipolar disorder is the most likely psychiatric disorder to be passed down from family. If one parent has bipolar disorder, there's a 10% chance that their child will develop the illness.
Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness that causes unusual shifts in mood, ranging from extreme highs (mania) to lows (depression).
Chemical imbalance in the brain
There is some evidence that bipolar disorder may be associated with chemical imbalances in the brain. The chemicals responsible for controlling the brain's functions are called neurotransmitters, and include noradrenaline, serotonin and dopamine.
Bipolar I disorder is the most severe form of the illness. Bipolar II disorder is characterized by predominantly depressive episodes accompanied by occasional hypomanic episodes. Hypomanic episodes are milder than manic episodes but can still impair functioning.
First of all, it's normal for people with bipolar disorder and other mental health conditions to “shut down” when their brain gets overwhelmed.
Hospitalization is considered an emergency option in bipolar disorder care. It becomes necessary in extreme cases where the disorder is causing someone to be an immediate threat to themselves or others. It may also be used when medications need monitoring or adjustment.