Interested in #Bipolar treatment?
Here is some….. Help for Health Care Professionals who want to help those of us with bipolar. (And tips for anyone who wants to find stability after a bipolar diagnosis.)
Why is the statement “Bipolar Disorder has Two Mood Swings” important?
It is important for the following reasons:
1. Almost all treatment focuses on ending depression as this is the mood swing that people openly say they want to end. This creates an imbalance as incorrect depression treatment can lead to mania. All treatment for bipolar depression must keep mania in mind. There are two mood swings to bipolar disorder and they are connected. They are not separate.
2. Dysphoric mania, (when depression is combined with the energy of mania) is by FAR the most destructive and dangerous of all mood swings and yet we rarely talk about it. Only when we end dysphoric mania, will we end the amount of people, especially young men who are in jail due to bipolar disorder behavior.
3. Cannabis has become so common that few are looking at the risks it poses for bipolar mania, especially dysphoric mania. The THC in cannabis is psychoactive and stimulating. If we focus on mania treatment in the same way we focus on depression treatment, we will question our own use of cannabis. Health care professionals will see that due to our mania and psychosis response to the herb, it is NOT a safe choice for people who want to find stability. Ah, the truth hurts!
4. Euphoric mania feels so good that we act on it instead of getting it treated. Health care professionals must talk with us about euphoric mania before it happens and teach us what it looks like and feels like. The Health Cards teach the system I use to manage euphoric mania. Therapists especially need this training as it is SO easy to think that a person with bipolar depression is better when it’s actually hypomania.
These four simple steps can profoundly change the way we treat bipolar disorder around the world. There are two mood swings in bipolar disorder: depression and mania. They are linked in an infinity loop. BOTH must be stopped in order for us to find stability. If we teach this to people newly diagnosed along with the people who are about them, we will create MUCH better futures for people with bipolar.
