Bipolar disorder, also called Manic Depression, is defined as a condition in which people go back and forth between periods of a very good or irritable mood and depression. It is a mental illness caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain and can be managed with regular, ongoing, counseling and medication. The “mood swings”, as they are often called, between regular happy moods and depressions can last for days, hours or can be very quick. Bipolar disorder affects both men and women. There is no known cause but the affects usually start between the ages of 15-25 and occurs in people who have relatives or close relations with the same disorder. (Phillips, J.A. 2005) Bipolar disorder can be a frustrating and difficult illness to cope with over a lifetime. Though agitating, it is treatable with the right medication and counseling. Once it is found out that there is an illness, the right combinations of the above mentioned needs to become priority. Maintaining medication a can be challenging because the body sometimes develops an immunity to it. Another hard thing about continued medication is the side effects of it. Because of this and the immunity issue, medication has to be changed periodically.
Members of the sufferer’s family are more times than not involved in the counseling sessions that go on. This is a great tactic because it helps the family members get their feelings out on the subject and also helps them find their own ways for coping with their bipolar family member. Often family counseling sessions are very helpful because all parties are better educated about the disorder. They are taught how to look for oncoming symptoms and how to handle ongoing episodes. The search for a cause for Bipolar Disorder has been a hard one. Scientist have found out through studies that the disorder is caused by more than one gene. Family studies show that siblings of a