Receiving a bipolar diagnosis means that you have a mental health condition that causes you to experience extreme mood swings, ranging from intense emotional highs to severe, crushing lows. When you reach those low, depressed levels, you will feel hopeless and lose interest in most of the activities you once loved. Bipolar disorder is a lifelong condition but one that can be managed through a bipolar treatment program. If you are struggling with mood swings or other symptoms of a bipolar disorder, contact New Start Recovery online or call us at [Direct] today to learn how professional mental health treatment can help you enjoy a happy life.
What Is Bipolar Disorder?
A bipolar diagnosis is more complex than a single disorder. There are several types of bipolar and related disorders that may include mania and depression that can occur at any age. However, a bipolar diagnosis is most common when younger, during your teenage years or early 20s. Symptoms can vary from person to person, and symptoms may vary over time.
Symptoms of bipolar can cause unpredictable alterations in a person’s mood and behavior, requiring compassionate care found in a bipolar treatment program. When a person with bipolar experiences a shift in their mood from mania or hypomania (a less extreme version of mania), they may be full of energy or irritable. These kinds of mood swings brought on by bipolar disorder can affect:
- Sleep patterns
- Energy levels
- Activity choices
- Judgment
- Behavior
- Ability to think clearly
Here are the disorders that could be identified through a bipolar diagnosis:
- Bipolar I disorder: A bipolar diagnosis may determine that you have bipolar I if you have suffered at least one manic episode in concert with a major depressive episode.
- Bipolar II disorder: If you have experienced a major depressive episode and at least one hypomanic episode, but not a manic episode, a bipolar diagnosis may point to bipolar II. This is a separate bipolar diagnosis, not a milder version of it. While there is no cure, you can learn to manage, cope and enjoy a full life with the help of New Start Recovery’s bipolar treatment program.
- Cyclothymic disorder: A person with at least two years (one year in the case of children) of hypomanic and depressive periods may be suffering from a cyclothymic disorder and should receive mental health treatment to learn essential life skills for managing their bipolar diagnosis.
The Importance of a Bipolar Diagnosis
While their mood shifts between wild extremes, from the high of energetic euphoria that may be welcome because of the productivity that comes part and parcel with it to the devastating lows of depressive episodes, many people with bipolar disorder will not be able to recognize just how much their emotional instability is affecting their own life and the lives of the people surrounding life. The result is that too many who need mental health treatment do not enter into the kind of bipolar treatment program that can help them enjoy a regulated, healthy life.
Despite the joy of the euphoria, the emotional crash that will follow and could leave you:
- Depressed
- Worn out
- In financial peril
- In legal trouble
- With relationship problems
- Feeling hopeless
- With thoughts of suicide
It is crucial to seek mental health treatment if you show symptoms of depression or mania because bipolar disorder will not get better if left untreated. Receiving care in a bipolar treatment program from trained, caring professionals with experience in bipolar diagnosis can help get your life and your symptoms under control.
Learn More at New Start Recovery
If you or someone you love has bipolar disorder, there is help available. You need and deserve mental health treatment designed for you and your unique situation. Contact New Start Recovery using our secure online form or call us at [Direct] to learn how our bipolar treatment program can help you today.