Bipolar Disorder is a lifelong mental illness that is characterized by unusual mood changes that can differ in length and severity. There is no cure for bipolar disorder. With the use of therapy and medications prescribed by a psychiatrist, one can help manage mood episodes. This use of these treatments may help hypomania/mania and depression become less severe.
Research has shown that bipolar disorder may run in families. If you have a parent or sibling with this mental illness you are at a higher risk of having the disorder. Research also revealed that there is a possibility that genetic factors play a role in bipolar disorder. But there is no single cause. The following can play a role in the emergence of the disorder as well; alcohol and drug use, biological factors and abnormalities in the brain, experience of chronic medical conditions, social isolation, and trauma or stressful life experiences.
Bipolar disorder is a chronic illness. If you or someone you love shows signs of major mood swings between depression and mania please see your medical doctor who may be able to refer you to a psychiatrist.
Take good care,
Christine
I would rather live in a world where my life is surrounded by mystery than live in a world so small that my mind could comprehend it. -- Henry Emerson Fosdick