Bipolar Treatment Options: What are they?

Bipolar disorder, once known as manic-depressive disorder, is a psychiatric illness that causes what might be described as mood swings on steroids. People who suffer from bipolar disorder will experience ‘manic’ periods – natural highs in which they are prone to respond to impulses, have reduced self-control, racing thoughts, difficulty sleeping and often (though not always) feel wonderful the whole time. These are followed by depressive episodes, when they have no energy, are buried in negative feelings, and have difficulty getting energy or initiative to do anything.
There are a number of treatment options for bipolar disorder, and which is effective will depend on the individual’s needs and situation.
Medication: there are several medications for bipolar disorder. In general, what they do is moderate the mood swings, making the highs not as high, and the lows not as low. Medication is at least partly successful for the majority of people with bipolar disorder, but it rarely completely effective on its own.
Counseling: overall, counseling seems to have little impact on the mood swings of bipolar disorder. However, bipolar disorder is very disruptive to a person’s life, and the lives of their family. Counseling can help people with bipolar disorder and their families cope with and adapt to the disruption of bipolar disorder, and find ways to prevent the worst problems that bipolar can cause.
Lifestyle: often lifestyle changes grow out of counseling, but they can be done by the patient on their own. Reducing stress, establishing routines, and learning to recognize and respond to symptoms of a manic or depressive episode before it happens can all have a huge impact both on the severity of the illness, and the patient’s quality of life.
Effective treatment of bipolar disorder depends on finding the right balance of different treatment options for each individual. It is important to work with a mental health professional to determine the best treatment plan, and to monitor the success of treatment.