Treatment Goals for Bipolar Teenagers

Once your teen receives a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, it's important to agree on at-home treatment goals which will help her to stay out of crisis. These goals are common-sense and are aimed at helping her to maintain stability in the chemicals of her brain.

Goal Stay Healthy

• You and your teen need to set health-maintenance goals. These are simple habits, including having a set bedtime and awakening time every day. This is an especially important habit for teens with bipolar disorder to incorporate into their daily lives because a disruption in sleep habits can cause disruptions in the chemical levels in their bodies. Getting into the habit of maintaining a regular sleep and awake pattern helps your teen to regulate his biological clock. He will also benefit by experiencing fewer manic and depressive cycles. He will experience the times when he has to go to bed later or wake up earlier because of scheduling or activity issues. He needs to make sure he keeps these deviations to a minimum.
  Developing a regular exercise habit will help him combat his depressive episodes as well as helping him to fight stress. When he exercises, his brain releases endorphins which help to calm his body down. He can make his exercise fun by using a dance mat, jumping on a trampoline, jumping rope or walking/jogging on a treadmill.

Avoid Drugs and/or Caffeine

• If your teen drinks a cup of coffee or a soda with caffeine, she could inadvertently trigger an imbalance in the chemicals in her brain. If this happens, she will experience her mood swings. Caffeine can also interfere with the medication she takes to control her symptoms.
  Over the counter medications such as acetaminophen or cold/allergy medication can also have a negative effect on your teen's medication. You should always check with her physician or psychiatrist about which medications she can safely take as well as those she should avoid.
  Those who suffer from bipolar disorder sometimes resort to "self-medication" with illicit drugs and/or alcohol. These interfere with the chemicals produced by your teen's brain, which creates an imbalance. Your daughter will experience mood swings, going into a manic episode then a depressive episode. She needs to understand that her medication is the only substance which is intended to help control her symptoms and that self-medication will only hurt her.

Recognize Symptoms

• As you become accustomed to "reading" your teen's moods, you will learn how to identify the symptoms which signal his descent into depression or mania. If he begins to express suicidal thoughts, experiences a change in his sleeping habits or his level of energy, becomes violent, experiences a change in the side effects from his medication(s) or is injured/sick and has to use a pain or cold medication, notify his physician immediately. Help your son learn that if he begins to experience suicidal thoughts, this is a symptom of bipolar disorder.