How can bipolar disorder be diagnosed




















Some people may need to try several different medications and work with their doctor before finding the ones that work best. The most common types of medications that doctors prescribe include mood stabilizers and atypical antipsychotics. Mood stabilizers such as lithium can help prevent mood episodes or reduce their severity when they occur. Lithium also decreases the risk for suicide.

Additional medications that target sleep or anxiety are sometimes added to mood stabilizers as part of a treatment plan. Talk with your doctor or a pharmacist to understand the risks and benefits of each medication. Report any concerns about side effects to your doctor right away. Avoid stopping medication without talking to your doctor first. Psychotherapy can offer support, education, skills, and strategies to people with bipolar disorder and their families.

Psychotherapy often is used in combination with medications; some types of psychotherapy e. Not much research has been conducted on herbal or natural supplements and how they may affect bipolar disorder.

Talk to your doctor before taking any supplement. Certain medications and supplements taken together can cause serious side effects or life-threatening drug reactions.

However, there are tools and resources available that may help you find a provider or treatment. You can also:. This service is available to everyone.

All calls are free and confidential. Living with bipolar disorder can be challenging, but there are ways to help make it easier for yourself, a friend, or a loved one. Remember, bipolar disorder is a lifelong illness, but long-term, ongoing treatment can help control symptoms and enable you to live a healthy life.

The National Institute of Mental Health NIMH conducts and supports research on bipolar disorder that increases our understanding of its causes and helps develop new treatments. Researchers continue to study genetics and bipolar disorder, brain function, and symptoms in children and teens who have bipolar disorder, as well as family history in health and behavior.

Clinical research is medical research that involves people like you. People volunteer to participate in carefully conducted investigations that ultimately uncover better ways to treat, prevent, diagnose, and understand human disease. Clinical research includes trials that test new treatments and therapies as well as long-term natural history studies, which provide valuable information about how disease and health progress. Please Note: Decisions about participating in a clinical trial and determining which ones are best suited for you are best made in collaboration with your licensed health professional.

NIMH researchers conduct studies in a wide range of areas related to the brain and mental disorders. After the initial phone interview, you will come to an appointment at the clinic and meet with a clinician.

Visit www. To find a clinical trial near you, you can visit www. This website is a searchable registry and results database of federally and privately supported clinical trials conducted in the United States and around the world. To determine what type of bipolar disorder a person has, mental health care professionals assess the pattern of symptoms and how impaired the person is during their most severe episodes.

The largest research project to assess what treatment methods work for people with bipolar disorder is the Systematic Treatment Enhancement for Bipolar Disorder , otherwise known as Step-BD. Step-BD followed over 4, people diagnosed with bipolar disorder over time with different treatments. People with bipolar disorder and psychotic symptoms can be wrongly diagnosed with schizophrenia. These other illnesses and misdiagnoses can make it hard to treat bipolar disorder.

For example, the antidepressants used to treat OCD and the stimulants used to treat ADHD may worsen symptoms of bipolar disorder and may even trigger a manic episode. If you have more than one condition called co-occurring disorders , be sure to get a treatment plan that works for you.

Search Close Menu. Sign In About Mental Illness. About Mental Illness Treatments. About Mental Illness Research. Your Journey Individuals with Mental Illness. Your Journey Family Members and Caregivers. Your Journey Identity and Cultural Dimensions.

Your Journey Frontline Professionals. Get Involved Become a Fundraiser. Get Involved Awareness Events. Get Involved Share Your Story. Get Involved Partner with Us. The DSM states that a major depressive episode must have at least four of the following symptoms. They should be new or suddenly worse, and must last for at least two weeks:. If you think someone is considering suicide, or you are, get help from a crisis or suicide prevention hotline.

Try the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at Bipolar I disorder involves one or more manic episodes or mixed manic and depressive episodes and may include a major depressive episode. Bipolar II disorder has one or more severe major depressive episodes with at least one hypomanic episode. Hypomania is a lesser form of mania. There are no manic episodes, but the individual may experience a mixed episode. The symptoms must still cause a lot of distress or problems at work, school, or with relationships.

Cyclothymia is characterized by changing low-level depression along with periods of hypomania. The symptoms must be present for at least two years in adults or one year in children before a diagnosis can be made.

Adults have symptom-free periods that last no longer than two months. Children and teens have symptom-free periods that last only about a month. This category is a severe form of bipolar disorder. It occurs when a person has at least four episodes of major depression, mania, hypomania, or mixed states within a year.

Rapid cycling affects more women than men. NOS is diagnosed when multiple symptoms of bipolar disorder are present but not enough to meet the label for any of the other subtypes. Bipolar disorder NOS includes multiple hypomanic episodes without a major depressive episode. Diagnosing bipolar disorder in children can be difficult because the symptoms of this disorder can sometimes mimic those of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD.

Symptoms of bipolar disorder in children can include:. The criteria for diagnosing bipolar disorder in children is similar to diagnosing the condition in adults. For example, how often does your child have emotional outbursts? Fountoulakis KN, et al. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology. In press. Beyer JL, et al. Nutrition and bipolar depression.

Psychiatric Clinics of North America. Qureshi NA, et al. Mood disorders and complementary and alternative medicine: A literature review. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. Sansone RA, et al. Getting a knack for NAC: N-acetyl-cysteine. Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience. Sylvia LG, et al. Nutrient-based therapies for bipolar disorder: A systematic review. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. Hall-Flavin DK expert opinion.

Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Krieger CA expert opinion. Post RM. Bipolar disorder in adults: Choosing maintenance treatment. Accessed Jan. Janicak PG. Bipolar disorder in adults and lithium: Pharmacology, administration, and side effects. Stovall J. Bipolar disorder in adults: Pharmacotherapy for acute mania and hypomania.

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