How to Understand a Bipolar Disability

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, a bipolar disability is a brain disorder characterized by periods of extreme energy known as mania and extreme depression. Bipolar disability is also commonly known as bipolar disorder and manic-depression. Behaviors caused by a bipolar disability can be extremely stressful to the friends and family of a person with a bipolar disability, and it can be very difficult to understand and sympathize with someone afflicted by manic-depression.

Instructions

• 1

  Research bipolar disabilities. Part of understanding a bipolar disability is in knowing the symptoms and causes.

• 2

  Learn the symptoms of a manic episode. During the manic stage, a person with a bipolar disorder will experience an overly happy mood and may feel agitated. She may talk fast, sleep less, have unrealistic goals and expectations and become impulsive.

• 3

  Discern the symptoms of a depressive episode. In a depressed state, people with a bipolar disability may flag in energy and may feel empty, worried or suicidal.

• 4

  Realize the symptoms are caused by a brain disorder and is no one is at fault. Though the exact cause for bipolar disorder is not known, chemicals in the brain influence it.

• 5

  Know what issues often go hand-in-hand with a bipolar disability. Substance abuse, anxiety disorder, and medical illnesses like migraines and thyroid disease often accompany bipolar disorder, making it even more difficult for the individual.

• 6

  Understand that accepting treatment can be difficult for a person with a bipolar disability. Many individuals with bipolar disorder feel that medications interfere with their thought patterns, and that the side effects are not worth getting better. Others get stuck in a cycle where they want to get better, but enjoy the manic stage and loathe themselves too much to get help while they are depressed.

• 7

  Join a support group. At the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance website, dbsalliance.org, you can search out support groups in your area. Talking with other people can help you see other people are struggling in the same way you are, and they may be able to help you understand a bipolar disability.