Red Flags of Mania Racing thoughts — Your teen may complain that thoughts are coming into their head too fast, and for some, this provokes anxiety. Sleeping less or insomnia — A one-off night may be normal but watch for a pattern of several nights in a row or longer of curtailed sleep.
Risk factors
Factors that may increase the risk of developing bipolar disorder or act as a trigger for the first episode include: Having a first-degree relative, such as a parent or sibling, with bipolar disorder. Periods of high stress, such as the death of a loved one or other traumatic event. Drug or alcohol abuse.
Bipolar disorder can cause your mood to swing from an extreme high to an extreme low. Manic symptoms can include increased energy, excitement, impulsive behaviour, and agitation. Depressive symptoms can include lack of energy, feeling worthless, low self-esteem and suicidal thoughts.
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.
Research has shown that the most common trigger for episodes of mania is sleep loss. This can be in the form of sleep disturbances, disruption, jet lag, and an inconsistent sleep schedule. Sleep disturbances rarely cause episodes of hypomania, but it does happen—particularly in individuals with bipolar I.
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.
Perhaps not. But understanding certain triggers can help you better manage bipolar disorder. One of the most common bipolar triggers is stress. In a study published in June 2014 in the Journal of Affective Disorders, negative or stressful life events were associated with subsequent mood swings.
“When stressed, bipolar patients will often, out of desperation, reach for anything to calm themselves or take away the stress even for a moment. Drugs, binge-eating, or excessive shopping can be unhealthy coping mechanisms that can bring on mood episodes,” Dr. Israel says.
When you're experiencing stress, you're more likely to become depressed, manic/hypomanic, anxious, or angry. If you get sick with a stress-related illness, the illness can become an additional stressor and make you more vulnerable to relapse.
Bipolar Disorder DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria
To be diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a person must have experienced at least one episode of mania or hypomania. To be considered mania, the elevated, expansive, or irritable mood must last for at least one week and be present most of the day, nearly every day.
The main sign of bipolar disorder is extreme mood swings that go from emotional highs to emotional lows. Manic episodes cause people to seem very energetic, euphoric, or irritable. During depressive episodes, your loved one may seem sad, upset, or tired all the time.
Bipolar disorder is characterised by extreme mood swings. These can range from extreme highs (mania) to extreme lows (depression). Episodes of mania and depression often last for several days or longer.
People with bipolar depression, however, tend to have more unpredictable mood swings, more irritability and guilt, and more feelings of restlessness. They also tend to move and speak slowly, sleep a lot and gain weight. (Sometimes these behaviors might be made more obvious by medication side effects.)
Bipolar disorder is characterized by frequent mood cycles, fluxing between mania and depression. While anger isn't always present, people with this frustrating condition may find they quickly experience angry outbursts when they feel agitated, irritated, or annoyed.
Both bipolar manic and depressed groups used the defense mechanism of denial, borderline level defenses and immature defenses significantly more than the unipolar depression group. The manic group showed greater dependence on narcissistic level defenses as compared to the other two groups.
First of all, it's normal for people with bipolar disorder and other mental health conditions to “shut down” when their brain gets overwhelmed.
Bipolar disorder can occur at any age, although it often develops between the ages of 15 and 19 and rarely develops after 40. Men and women from all backgrounds are equally likely to develop bipolar disorder. The pattern of mood swings in bipolar disorder varies widely.
Lamotrigine. Lamotrigine (Lamictal) may be the most effective mood stabilizer for depression in bipolar disorder, but is not as helpful for mania. The starting dose of lamotrigine should be very low and increased very slowly over four weeks or more.
Cyclothymia, or cyclothymic disorder, causes mood changes – from feeling low to emotional highs. Cyclothymia has many similarities to bipolar disorder.