Early Warning Signs of Manic Depression
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Manic depression, now more commonly called bipolar disorder, is a type of mental health disorder involving a fluctuation between feeling depressed and feeling manic. These changes tend to happen for certain periods or may also include a combination of opposite feelings simultaneously.
The shifts in energy and mood levels linked to this disorder may put a hamper on the life of a person that makes them deal with the symptoms. The early signs of the disorder might be present, indicating the need to assist a person manage their symptoms and get proper treatment.
Unfortunately, it’s not always that simple to distinguish the early symptoms of bipolar disorder from some similar concerns such as normal mood swings or depression. But you can watch out for signs of the mental health condition. The early signs may indicate early warning signs in teens or children or this may also pertain to the initial symptoms of bipolar disorder you notice in relation to the start of the disorder.
Symptoms of Manic Depression
If the common symptoms and signs of the disorder show up, it might indicate the onset of the problem. Symptoms of bipolar disorder include a combination of depressive and manic symptoms, such as:
- Acting on impulse
- Tendency to get distracted easily
- Feeling tired
- Engaging in unsafe behaviours
- Experiencing an agitated and wired state
- Suffering from hallucinations or delusions
- Having suicidal actions or thoughts
- Not noticing the behaviours
- Feeling down, hopeless, and sad
- Feeling irritable
- Feeling excessively positive
- Feeling empty and unmotivated
- Having excessive energy
- Changes in eating and sleeping habits
- Finding it hard to stay in touch with reality
- Having sub-par sleep or having a hard time sleeping
- Showing excessive self-confidence like acting as if they can do anything and that they are better than the rest
- Talking too fast with abrupt changes in conversation
Generally speaking, you would notice that the signs of depression and mania could happen either together or separately. Aside from this, with manic depression, a person may use an antidepressant for symptoms of depression only to discover that it doesn’t offer any relief after several months or they suffer symptoms of mania while using it. It is very common for bipolar disorder patients to take different antidepressants without experiencing any relief.
The intensity and symptoms may differ with the specific subtype of the disorder, which means that not all people may experience the same symptoms or undergo similar experiences.
The first subtype is Bipolar I, which includes severe manic periods and severe depressive periods. The second subtype is Bipolar II which tends to include periods of depression and mania characterized in the first subtype but with less severe mania and more depression.
Bipolar Disorder Risk Factors
Another form of early warning sign of manic depression is that the person already has existing risk factors for suffering from it. The risk factors don’t necessarily mean that the person is going to develop it.
However, they increase the possibility and might be considered as early warning signs together with other symptoms and signs. Risk factors associated with manic depression include external and generic factors alike.
