Living with Bipolar Disorder – Symptoms and Stories

Bipolar disorder can be difficult! Not only does this cause a person to experience mood swing frequently, but it also hampers daily activities. Before we go on to discuss the bipolar disorder symptoms, let us have a look at what it actually means. Also, we are going to reveal what is it like to live with Bipolar disorder, with the help of a patient’s story.

This is a story of Rama, who was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder:

“As I wake up today, ready to face the world, for yet another day, I feel extremely energetic. But, as I think of the day ahead, I feel droopy instantly. Only yesterday, I got embarrassed in front of my peers, when I started to cry for no reason particularly. The walls suddenly started to come closer and I could not breathe. This was just another day and remembering it, I was not motivated enough to begin my day. For days on end, I was at times very happy and excited. But on the other hand, I could not make myself get out of the bed. And this made my sister think that I am not well. She thought maybe it was the result of my bad past relationship. But, no one understood it until one day… When I woke up unconscious in the hospital and faintly saw my sister standing in front of me. She failed to hide her concern for me. Only to discover that last night, I had swallowed excessive sleeping pills and was bought here, unconscious.” Rama was bought here by her sister when she saw undeniable changes in her and wanted to provide her the best treatment. She then confessed that Rama had suffered from a bad divorce that shattered her life.

This is what her sister had to say:

“A year later, as she was recovering from it, her parents passed away in a car accident. All this shattered her life and had shaken her badly. She was not able to process all of this but, her sister was by her side all this while. As days turned into weeks and months and years, her sister was the one who advised her to join back her job, so that she could feel somewhat better. And that is when things started to get even worse. And in the end, these conditions had made Rama attempt suicide.” Bipolar disorder symptoms are pretty evident, but the patient doesn’t necessarily know what is it.

Causes of Bipolar disorder can be many, some of them are:

• • High Level of Stress
  • Family Issues
  • Genes

Based on our case study, let us now see some of the bipolar disorder symptoms:

• • Frequent switch in mood
  • Feeling extremely joyous
  • Feeling of depression / being depressed
  • Talking way too much
  • Not able to breathe properly
  • Indecisiveness
  • Impulsive behavior, leading to loss/damage to physical property or something else
  • Thoughts skyrocketing
  • Hear noises from far (even if they are not there)

Bipolar disorder symptoms can be gauged once you know what are the episodes that the patient goes through.

Basically, there are two phases of bipolar disorder

Mania: this is the one where the person is in a state of extremely high. In this phase, the person can feel very happy and on top of the world. Depressive: This is a phase where the person feels extremely low and dull. It can also be followed by depression. People with this disease are more prone to suicide attempts than anyone else. Stats reveal that: Bipolar disorder affects approx. 5.7 million American adults. If you or anyone you know is found with these symptoms, DO NOT take it lightly and consult the best psychiatrist. Bipolar disorder symptoms can be highlighted easily, given that the person has apt knowledge and awareness. So stay safe, stay healthy!