Formerly called manic depression, bipolar disorders are a group of mental health conditions that cause extreme mood changes. They can co-occur with substance use disorder (SUD).
If you are struggling with bipolar disorders and co-occurring mental health challenges like SUD, reach out to Otter House Wellness.
We specialize in treating bipolar disorders, SUD, and other substance abuse, addiction, and mental health disorders through personalized and compassionate care.
About Bipolar Disorders
Bipolar disorders are a group of mental illnesses that cause drastic shifts in a person’s energy, mood, concentration, and activity levels.
People with these mental disorders often experience emotional lows (bipolar depression), emotional highs (mania or hypomania), and mixed emotional states where they feel both high and low. They often have co-occurring drug or alcohol abuse disorders.
While bipolar disorders can’t always be cured, effective treatments can make them manageable.
Depending on the severity of your symptoms, your healthcare provider may prescribe a variety of treatment options, including:
- Talk therapy
- Outpatient mental health programs
- Medication management
- Electroconvulsive therapy (CECT)
- Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)
At Otter House Wellness, our healthcare providers personalize treatment plans for bipolar disorders and other mental health conditions to fit your unique needs.
What Causes Bipolar Disorders to Form?
No one knows how exactly bipolar disorders happen.
Research suggests a mix of risk factors may increase your chances of developing bipolar, including:
- Substance use and alcohol abuse
- Childhood trauma
- Brain chemistry
- Family history
- Stressful life events
Symptoms of Bipolar Disorders
Although there are several types of bipolar disorders, they generally share the same symptoms.
Symptoms of mania include:
- Talking fast and being unusually talkative
- Being more agitated, energetic, or active than usual
- Needing far less sleep than usual
- Making impulsive decisions, such as unwise investments
Symptoms during episodes of depression include:
- Sleeping too much or too little
- Feeling sad, hopeless, empty, or tearful
- Feeling no pleasure or interest in all or most activities
- Acting slower than usual
- Overeating and gaining weight or losing a lot of weight due to undereating
- Feeling guilty or worthless
- Having a hard time concentrating, thinking, or making decisions
- Thinking about or planning suicide
- Psychosis or psychotic symptoms
While having mixed episodes, you may experience depressive symptoms and mania at the same time.
Warning signs for bipolar disorder in children and teens can be harder to spot. They may experience distinct manic or major depressive episodes. Talk to a pediatrician to learn more about pediatric mood disorders.
Types of Bipolar Disorder
There are three main types of bipolar disorder: Bipolar 1, Bipolar 2, and cyclothymic disorder.
Bipolar 1
Bipolar 1 is considered the most severe type of bipolar disorder. People with bipolar 1 have experienced at least one episode of mania. Each episode can last weeks or months. A depressive episode is not necessary for a diagnosis.
Bipolar I can affect anyone. The average age of onset is 25 years, but it can start in early childhood or in your 40s and 50s.
Although bipolar I affects males and females in equal numbers, the condition affects them differently. Females with bipolar I may switch moods more quickly due to varying levels of thyroid and sex hormones as well as the tendency for women to be prescribed antidepressants.
Like other bipolar disorders, bipolar I can lead to feelings of guilt, powerlessness, and depression. This affects a person’s ability to maintain employment, participate in activities, and build healthy relationships. It may cause you to hear voices that others can’t hear.
Bipolar 2
People with bipolar 2 experience depressive and hypomanic episodes. However, they won’t experience a full manic episode unlike people with bipolar I disorder.
Like bipolar I, bipolar II can affect anyone, and can cause females to fluctuate between moods more quickly.
Bipolar II generally has the same symptoms and effect on people’s lives as bipolar I. Bipolar I is generally considered more severe, but bipolar II disorder is often more debilitating because people with this condition are more likely to have chronic depression.
Cyclothymic Disorder
People with this condition have a chronically unstable mood. They experience mild depression and hypomania for a minimum of two years. People with cyclothymia may have euthymic or normal mood episodes for less than eight weeks.
Like other types of bipolar disorders, cyclothymic disorder affects female and male people equally, and usually begins in adolescence and young adulthood.
Cyclothymia symptoms are similar to those of bipolar I and II, but less severe. This means you can generally function in your daily life.
Other Types of Bipolar
There are other types of bipolar disorders. These include:
- Rapid cycling bipolar: You may have bipolar 1 or 2 with rapid cycling if you have experienced at least 4 or more depressive, hypomanic or manic, or mixed episodes within a year.
- Bipolar with mixed features: You may have bipolar 1 or 2 with mixed features if you have mixed episodes. This is also called mixed affective bipolar or mixed bipolar state.
- Bipolar with seasonal pattern: You may have bipolar 1 or 2 with seasonal pattern if the seasons affect your mood episodes.
- Unspecified bipolar: If you don’t meet the diagnostic criteria for all of the types of bipolar disorders, but you’ve still experienced periods of significant abnormal mood elevation, you may be diagnosed with unspecified bipolar disorder.
Complications of Untreated Bipolar Disorders
If bipolar disorders aren’t treated, you may suffer serious complications. These include:
- Longer and more severe mood swings
- Substance abuse
- Relationship problems
- Financial problems
- Physical health conditions
- Weight gain
- Anxiety
- A higher risk of suicide
Fortunately, proper treatment can help people with bipolar disorder to control their mood swings and improve their quality of life.
Bipolar Disorder Treatment at Otter House Wellness
If you or a loved one have bipolar disorder, Otter House Wellness can help.
We provide compassionate, targeted, and ongoing treatment options for bipolar disorder that’s tailored to your condition.
Here are the treatments and programs we provide to help you with your symptoms and sustain recovery.
Outpatient Mental Health Programs
Outpatient mental health programs let you maintain your schedule. You only have to go to Otter House Wellness to receive treatment during the day.
Otter House Wellness provides three levels of outpatient treatment for people with bipolar disorders:
- Partial hospitalization programs (PHP) involve intensive daily treatment and is the most intensive type of outpatient mental health service. It is best for people with significant bipolar disorder symptoms who need a high level of support.
- Intensive outpatient programs (IOP) is the second-most intense outpatient service offered by Otter House Wellness. It’s best for people transitioning back to daily life who need support for managing bipolar disorder and co-occurring substance use disorder.
- Outpatient is the least intensive level of outpatient treatment. It offers flexible medical management and therapy for people in the later recovery stages or with milder symptoms.
Medication Management
Medication management involves monitoring medications to ensure they work correctly, that you get the right dosage, and that you don’t experience negative side effects.
Depending on your symptoms, you may be prescribed different medications for bipolar.
Here are some of the most commonly prescribed medications for bipolar disorder:
- Antipsychotics have mood stabilizing abilities, and many have been approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for manic episode treatment. Examples include quetiapine (Seroquel), aripiprazole (Abilify), olanzapine (Zyprexa), risperidone (Risperdal), and lurasidone (Latuda).
- Mood stabilizers can help control hypomanic or depressive episodes. Examples include lamotrigine (Lamictal), carbamazepine (Equetro), divalproex sodium (Depakote, Depakote ER), valproate, and lithium (Lithobid).
- Antidepressants can potentially help with depressive episodes. However, side effects may include manic symptoms. Talk to your healthcare provider to see if antidepressants should be prescribed.
Therapy Options
Talk therapy, also known as psychotherapy, can also help stabilize bipolar disorder symptoms. Otter House Wellness offers the following therapy types:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helps you spot and change unhealthy thought patterns.
- Holistic therapy treats the whole person, not only the addiction or mental health challenge, but the underlying issues contributing to these issues.
- Family-focused therapy improves support and communication with loved ones.
- Group therapy provides shared learning opportunities from support groups.
- Interpersonal or social rhythm therapy helps patients spot disruptive triggers in their routine and develop strategies to deal with them.
- Psychoeducation refers to the process of learning about bipolar disorder. This can help you get the best support and make a plan to stop relapse.
Find Balanced Mental Wellness for Bipolar at Otter House Wellness
If you or a loved one have bipolar disorder, Otter House Wellness can help.
Our mental health professionals specialize in dual diagnosis treatment of bipolar disorder, which means you’ll receive treatment for substance use and mental health disorders at the same time. This means you’ll have a better time sustaining recovery and preventing relapse.
Contact us today to see how our recovery programs can help you or your family member.
