Understanding Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a chronic mental health condition where individuals experience intense shifts in their mood and energy levels. This disorder can have a huge impact on a person’s ability to handle everyday activities. However, the National Institute of Mental Health reports that bipolar disorder is difficult to identify in the early stages.1 In many cases, bipolar disorder symptoms can be explained away. Some people might even hide their distress from the people they love. As a result, it’s not uncommon for people to spend years or even decades engaged in a battle against bipolar disorder.

Sadly, some people turn to addictive drugs as a way to cope with bipolar disorder. Thankfully, astute family members can spot the signs, and when they do, treatment providers have comprehensive programs to help. If you need assistance now, please contact us at Black Bear Lodge today to speak with someone who cares.

Differing Displays

Bipolar disorder is often characterized by intense moods, but the various ways the condition manifests can be quite different in different people. In fact, there are four different types of bipolar disorder that are recognized. Each has a separate subtype with its own specific symptoms.

For example, those who have bipolar I disorder often have intense periods of creativity and energy where they do not sleep, eat or rest. They also may seem jumpy and twitchy.

These individuals often engage in reckless behavior, such as:

  • Spending huge amounts of money
  • Driving too fast
  • Sharing intimate information on social media
  • Buying stocks and bonds without researching the activity
  • Quitting or starting jobs
  • Having sex with strangers

These episodes of mania are contrasted with depressive episodes where people feel so low that they simply can’t get out of bed. These individuals may feel worthless, hopeless or helpless. Making decisions is difficult, and planning for the future often seems futile.

In spite of these depressed periods, people with bipolar I disorder may have balanced moods and may not be able to control the shift from one extreme to another. The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance suggests that one or two cycles like this per year is common, and mania typically takes place in the spring or fall when the seasons change.2

Those who have bipolar II disorder don’t tend to have these huge swings and intense shifts, but they do have subtle periods of happiness that are followed by a serious shift to depression. Their highs may not be extreme, but their lows are certainly difficult to deal with. Similarly, some people have a form of bipolar disorder known as cyclothymia. This term means individuals shift from mild mania to mild depression. Their symptoms aren’t severe enough to receive a diagnosis of having bipolar I disorder, but the feelings they experience are more powerful than those felt by people who have strong mental health.

Some people have some symptoms of these disorders, but their problems are somewhat unique, so they don’t allow the person to fit into one diagnostic category. They may not have enough manic symptoms, for example, or their problems may be new to them. They may not shift very often, or have enough symptoms of depression. People like this may be given a diagnosis of bipolar disorder not otherwise specified (BP-NOS).

Living with Bipolar Disorder

The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 2.8% of adults in the United States had bipolar disorder in the past year.3 While these individuals have their own challenges and their own stories to tell, most people who have untreated forms of bipolar disorder live in a difficult or uncomfortable state. An episode of mania can be so intense that individuals are incapable of cooking, cleaning, going to work or caring for their children.

Some people are unable to concentrate, going from one half-finished project to another. Others may become delusional, believing they are famous or wealthy. Some people might feel fabulous during this time, but some feel unable to relax or to quiet down. When the emotions wear off, they’re asked to deal with the consequences of their behavior, and some might even be asked to explain why they acted in such a reckless manner. These might be questions that are difficult, or even impossible, to answer.

The depression of bipolar disorder can be crippling and last for months on end. People might just be unable to improve, even as the people around them tell them to get up and do something about their mood. Nothing seems to help, and no changes seem to make any difference at all.

Some forms of bipolar disorder allow people to shift from one mood to another in just minutes, cycling from happy to sad again multiple times each day. People like this might even have mixed episodes in which they feel both mania and depression at the same time. They may have no control over their feelings at all, during these episodes, and they may be terrified about what they might do.

Some people turn to addictive drugs like alcohol or heroin, as a way to cope with their emotional responses. When they feel too high, they may take a drug to push them back down to normalcy. When they feel low, they can take a drug to boost their energy level. It seems reasonable, but unfortunately, it’s also a dangerous strategy. Addictive drugs can erode portions of the brain that deal with impulse control and mood regulation, which might make mood swings more common and more intense.

Getting Better

For people with bipolar disorder, finding the right treatment program is key to long-term success. In many cases, medication, psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) are used to treat bipolar. CBT is used to help the individual manage symptoms, avoid triggers for relapse, and solve problems.4 The right form of treatment can give the individual confidence and show the path to success.

In a formal program for bipolar disorder, experts can provide medications that soothes the imbalances in the brain that tend to lead to intense moods, and while people with this condition might need to take their medications for the rest of life, doing so could keep mood shifts from coming back. Some programs even put people with bipolar disorder into support groups, so they can learn from their peers and develop intense skills that can serve them in the years that follow.

Therapy can be challenging as it involves both patience and learning. Individuals impaired by drugs normally don’t have success in bipolar treatment their mind is focused on obtaining or using drugs. Only when an individual is sober are they able to really focus on moving forward.

For anyone with people with bipolar disorder and a substance abuse problem, a program like ours at Bear Lodge might be the right place to start. We can help you get sober in a safe environment and lay the groundwork that will give you control over their mental illness and your recovery. Please call now at 706-909-9811 to get more information about our treatment process.

The Bipolar Subtypes and Their Risks of Addiction

Although not officially symptomatic of each other, a high percentage of people with bipolar disorder struggle with addiction. In fact, a co-occurring substance abuse disorder is so common that many medical professionals perform routine addiction screenings in people who are diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

There are many subtypes of bipolar disorder with a wide range of symptoms and severities. Understanding the different types of bipolar disorder and the common connections with addiction are important for those who are living with bipolar disorder and for their loved ones. The more information and insight, the more empowered they will be to pursue the specialized they help in order to heal.

The Bipolar Spectrum

Bipolar disorder is characterized by shifts in mood. On the one side is a depressed mood in which people feel low, sad and lethargic. On the other side is a manic mood in which people feel powerful, energetic and perhaps happy or creative. People who have bipolar disorder tend to experience one or both of these moods without any particular outside prompt. They’re not depressed due to a death in the family, for example, or they don’t feel energetic due to a job promotion. Instead, they experience intense moods simply because their brain cells are firing at an unusual rate or at the wrong time.

Experts place people who have mood shifts into a bipolar disorder category, but there are a number of different ways in which the disorder can manifest. Often, experts suggest that there is a spectrum involved, in which people might have one, some, or all of the possible symptoms associated with the disorder. This isn’t a spectrum of severity as you may expect. However, the spectrum allows experts to understand their patients better and respond with appropriate help.

Bipolar I

At one end of the spectrum is bipolar I disorder. About one percent of the population has this type of bipolar disorder, and their symptoms present as what the public might know as classic bipolar disorder.5 People who have this form of bipolar disorder swing between the highest highs and the lowest lows on a regular basis.

During a manic episode, they might engage in the following behaviors:

  • Speak so quickly that they’re difficult to understand
  • Spend an extremely largeamount of money
  • Express delusional beliefs
  • Refuse to sleep
  • Have an increased interest in sex

The same person might then have episodes of intense depression in which life doesn’t seem worth living at all. They might refuse to go to work, find it hard to talk to others or struggle to make decisions. They seem as though they’re in a pit of despair.

Substance abuse can play a major role in the life of someone who has bipolar I disorder. This is a commonality across all mental health disorders. In 2014, it was estimated that 7.9 million people had both a substance use disorder and a mental health disorder.6 For people like this, substances seem to make dysfunction a little easier to live with.

Bipolar II

This form of bipolar disorder can also make life difficult or impossible, but people like this don’t experience intense mania. Instead, they move from moments in which they feel just a little sad into moments in which they feel an intense amount of despair. People like this are still cycling from one mood to another, so they still fit the official diagnosis of bipolar disorder, but they may not experience the creativity and joy that comes with mania. Instead, they might cycle between feeling a little depressed or extremely depressed. People with bipolar II have what the highest risk of suicide among all people on the bipolar spectrum because their depression seems never-ending.7

People with bipolar II are also susceptible to drug use. They may lean on euphoric drugs to feel some form of happiness or take stimulant drugs in order to boost their energy levels, so they can get through the day even while depressed.

Cyclothymia

This form of bipolar disorder is on the other end of the spectrum from bipolar I as it contains the same type of cycling between mania and depression, but the highs and lows are considered less severe.

People with cyclothymia experience sudden shifts in mood that they might find difficult or impossible to control, but they may not have extreme forms of either mood.8

These patients may also choose to self-medicate with drugs and alcohol in order to smooth out the shifts they’re feeling. Unfortunately, cyclothymia tends to grow more severe in time if the right treatments aren’t provided, and those who are using drugs might not get that treatment. As a result, their drug use leads to a more severe form of bipolar disorder.

Not Otherwise Specified (NOS)

This form of bipolar disorder can sit anywhere on the spectrum as it’s applied to people who have a cluster of symptoms that don’t fit well into the diagnostic criteria. People with this form of bipolar disorder might have episodes of only mania with no depression, or they may have only a few symptoms of mania and a few symptoms of depression, but their episodes may not come quickly enough to merit a formal diagnosis.

It can be incredibly difficult to live with NOS bipolar disorder as many struggle to find the right care. Since their symptoms don’t fit other categories, they may not receive medication support or counseling therapies needed for healing. Therefore, it’s common for people with NOS bipolar to self-medicate with drugs and alcohol which can lead to increase symptoms and a more severe form of bipolar.

Shifting Moods and Rapid Cycling

While everyone who has bipolar disorder experiences mood shifts, people who have a rapid cycling form of the disease can go from one mood to the other extremely fast. They might awaken in the morning feeling depressed and experience mania by midday. People who deal with shifts like this can feel profoundly disabled being completely unaware of what mood may come next, constantly feeling on edge.

Those with rapid cycling may be at a higher risk for substance abuse and addiction feeling desperate to make the problem stop.9 Similarly, some people who have bipolar disorder experience two types of emotions at the same time. During these mixed episodes, they might feel profoundly depressed and profoundly energetic, all at the same time. It can be hard for people to put their feelings into words when they’re in the midst of an episode like this, but they are likely to try anything — like drugs and alcohol—to make the sensations stop.

Care for Addiction and Bipolar Disorder

While people may abuse drugs because they want to manage their symptoms, substance abuse makes the problems associated with bipolar so much worse. Specialized treatment in co-occurring disorders can make all the difference.

Specialized care for those with co-occurring disorders usually begins with the following:

  • A thorough assessment of the symptoms the person is currently experiencing
  • Blood and urine tests for drugs and alcohol
  • A discussion about the person’s substance abuse habits
  • A timeline regarding symptom eruption and what the person did to alleviate the symptoms

Adjust to Sobriety

Detox is the next step, in which the body is rid of all illicit substances in a safe and controlled environment so their brains can adjust to life without drugs without triggering episodes of mania or depression. Once detox is complete, doctors may begin to utilize mood-stabilizing medications to manage bipolar symptoms. However, since these medications can interact with illicit drugs, it’s vital for people to completely detox before they begin medication therapies.

Psychotherapy is another important step in treatment. Here, people work with a therapist to understand their motivation for taking drugs along with their triggers for bipolar shifts. They might work in a one-on-one setting, as well as do group work and learn from peers who also have bipolar disorder.

At Black Bear Lodge, we specialize in treatments for mental illness, particularly those that have been compounded by addiction. We believe that everyone who has these disorders can get better, and we work hard every day to get people to a better state of health with medication management, psychotherapy, support groups, and complementary therapies. Please call us at 706-909-9811 today to begin your journey of healing.

Cyclothymic Disorder

Many people have heard of bipolar disorder, but did you know that there are a few different subtypes of bipolar disorder? Cyclothymia is a type of bipolar disorder that is often described as “bipolar light” or “low-level bipolar disorder.” We all experience ups and downs in life, so it is useful to know more about each type of bipolar disorder and remain aware of the best ways to treat these conditions when they occur.

People who have a diagnosis of any type of bipolar disorder experience episodes of depression and episodes of mania. Some subtypes of bipolar disorder include bipolar I, bipolar II, cyclothymia, mixed-state bipolar disorder, and substance-induced bipolar disorder.10

Cyclothymic disorder is a milder form of bipolar disorder, indicated by mild depression and episodes of hypomania with symptoms persisting for at least two years in adults and one year in children. Those diagnosed with cyclothymic disorder don’t meet the diagnostic criteria for any of the other three forms of bipolar disorder.

Cyclothymic disorder is rare. It is usually diagnosed in adults as it tends to first manifest in adolescence or early adulthood, and it affects approximately one percent of the population.12

“I learned how difficult it is to do it on your own and that without learning how to motivate myself, I would not be in recovery today,” writes Daphne of Heroes in Recovery. “I also learned that mental illness doesn’t define me…I would advise people to stand out from the crowd and get help however you need to at whatever pace you need. If it doesn’t happen right when you ask, don’t give up. Create your recovery.”

Mania in Cyclothymic Disorder: An Addictive High

Due to its somewhat milder nature and subtle symptoms, cyclothymic disorder is difficult to diagnose and many people never get treatment because the symptoms can be difficult to recognize. For example, depression symptoms are not as severe in someone who suffers from cyclothymic disorder as they are in someone who has a diagnosis of bipolar II disorder, for example.

One of the most striking differences of cyclothymic disorder in comparison to other forms of bipolar disorder is the way in which the hypomanic state manifests. Hypomania is indicated by an elevated mood in which the person can become highly animated and positive or more energetic and angry.

This type of mania can feel like a wonderful “high” to some people. They may strive to maintain those feelings and even attempt to keep the energy up through stimulants. There is no doubt that hypomania “little mania” can increase productivity in our busy modern world, and this feeling can be addictive. Unfortunately, this hypomania can also cause big distractions, lead to relationship conflicts, and cause the affected person to spend money recklessly, make poor business decisions, or make otherwise regrettable decisions.13

Sometimes, people with cyclothymic disorder will engage in the use of stimulants in an attempt to bring this “high” feeling back. This only makes the problem worse and can lead to a full-blown substance use disorder that does not truly regulate mood or relive times of depression. It’s easy to slip into a pattern of substance use in an effort to feel better, and it is important to seek recovery as soon as possible.

Managing Cyclothymic Disorder

Bipolar disorder, and especially cyclothymic disorder, can often be managed successfully with proper diagnosis and treatment. Typically, a loved one can be a great resource in helping a medical professional to diagnose someone with cyclothymic disorder, as they often know their loved one’s mood swings and patterns better than anyone else.

Some specific tools to help manage symptoms include:

While it may seem simple, keeping a consistent eating, sleeping, waking, and exercise schedule can keep your circadian rhythms consistent, which promotes stable moods. Drugs and alcohol can also make symptoms worse, increasing mood swings. Both alcohol and caffeine interfere with proper sleep habits as well.

Getting treatment for cyclothymic disorder is important to long-term recovery and can really make a difference in helping to manage and regulate moods and symptoms. Psychotherapy, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, is a vital tool that helps individuals learn what may trigger episodes of hypomania or depression and how to manage or avoid them. Black Bear Lodge not only strives to treat the disorder but also really focuses on the individual, promoting physical and emotional wellness through many successful treatment methods. Call 706-909-9811 for more comprehensive information today.

Mixed Bipolar

Bipolar disorder, a brain disorder affecting moods, is usually broken up into four different types: bipolar I, bipolar II, cyclothymic and mixed bipolar disorder. As science and medicine continue to grow and evolve, and as more is understood about mental health disorders, these disorders can be more clearly defined and separated.

At this point, there is some contention about mixed bipolar being the fourth type of bipolar disorder. Medical professionals disagree on its diagnosis at times, and it can often fall into the category of bipolar disorder not otherwise specified (BP-NOS). BP-NOS is meant to be a catchall for those suffering from mood swings outside of their normal range of behavior but not fitting into one of the other categories of bipolar disorder. Mixed bipolar disorder is not included in the current diagnostic manual, the DSM-5, although it does list criteria for mixed features, and there is evidence of mixed symptoms not falling into the other categories of bipolar disorder.

What Is Mixed Bipolar?

Bipolar disorder is diagnosed when someone suffers from sustained cycles of mania and also cycles of depression, usually at different times. Periods of mania include increased levels of energy and activity, elevated moods and agitation. Manic episodes can be dangerous and lead to poor decision-making and risky behavior. Depression is characterized by extreme sadness, fatigue, feelings of isolation, lack of interest in most everything, suppressed appetite, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. In most types of bipolar disorder, these symptoms are distinct and appear in separate episodes lasting a few days or even a few months before cycling. Bipolar disorder is diagnosed when these symptoms affect daily life and are chronic in nature.

At times, these symptoms can exist concurrently or in rapid succession, however. When this happens, it can be thought to be mixed bipolar disorder.

Symptoms include:

  • Feelings of agitation mixed with despair
  • Impulsive, racing thoughts coupled with aggression and self-destructive thoughts and actions
  • Irritability and feelings of hopelessness
  • Rapid speech and anguish

Rapid cycling is characterized by four different episodes, either manic, hypomanic, or depressive, within a 12-month period. These states of rapid cycling or mixed depression coupled with periods of mania are often dangerous. Left untreated, bipolar disorder in any form can get worse and have tragic consequences. Unfortunately, suicide is a real threat to those suffering from bipolar disorder, with 25 to 50 percent of those suffering attempting suicide at least once, as published by the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. Another risk factor is the tendency of those suffering from bipolar disorder to also abuse substances, increasing the odds for addiction and a co-occurring disorder that make all symptoms worse and treatment more difficult.

Getting Help

No matter which type of bipolar disorder is diagnosed, help is available. All forms of bipolar disorder are treatable, and symptoms can be managed with proper care. Black Bear Lodge is a treatment center that focuses on treating the entire person and not just on managing a disorder. Maintaining a consistent routine, including a nutritious diet, exercise plan, and sleep schedule, promotes a healthy physical self that is more apt to be able to focus on mental and spiritual health. Psychotherapy is an important tool as well with different therapies tailored to specific needs.

Black Bear Lodge is a healing place that specializes in dual diagnosis treatment and is able to offer integrated treatment for both substance abuse and bipolar disorder when necessary. Black Bear Lodge is located in a serene environment that is perfect for helping individuals find their center and refocus. Call us to learn more.

Bipolar I Disorder

Everyone suffers from highs and lows in life; however, those suffering from bipolar disorder experience these shifts in much greater magnitude, with symptoms so severe they interfere with daily life. Bipolar disorder is a disorder of the brain that causes extreme shifts in mood, activity levels, and energy. It is usually developed in adolescence or early adulthood, and it affects approximately 2.6 percent of America’s adult population, as published by the National Institute of Mental Health.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) classifies four separate types of bipolar disorder: bipolar I, bipolar II, mixed bipolar, and cyclothymic disorder. Bipolar I is diagnosed when manic symptoms are so severe that they require immediate treatment, mixed or manic episodes last at least seven days, or depressive episodes last at least two weeks.

Symptoms of Bipolar I Disorder

Bipolar disorder, also called manic-depressive disorder, is characterized by severe mood swings, shifting from episodes of highs, including euphoria or mania, to lows and depression. Sufferers of bipolar I disorder have such severe shifts in mood that they struggle with relationships, with jobs, and in school.

Manic episodes can be dangerous. Symptoms of mania include:

  • Euphoria
  • Rapid speech and racing thoughts
  • Irritation, agitation, or aggressive behavior
  • Risky behavior, possibly including substance abuse, excessive spending, or risky sexual behavior
  • Sleeplessness
  • Poor judgment
  • Inflated ego
  • Increased physical activity
  • Distractibility
  • Psychosis or delusions

The flipside of mania for someone suffering from bipolar disorder is depression. Depressive symptoms include:

  • Hopelessness
  • Anxiety
  • Guilt
  • Intense sadness
  • Sleeplessness
  • Fatigue
  • Decreased appetite
  • Suicidal thoughts and/or behavior
  • Irritability
  • Trouble concentrating
  • Loss of interest in activities previously enjoyed
  • Unidentifiable chronic pain

Symptoms of bipolar disorder are intense and can cycle from high to low quickly; however, episodes of mania and/or depression may be sustained for longer periods of time. If you suffer from bipolar disorder and are experiencing suicidal thoughts or behavior, seek immediate help.

What Causes Bipolar I Disorder?

Bipolar I disorder is thought to occur due to a combination of risk factors that include both genetic and environmental factors. The prefrontal cortex of the brain, which serves to help us make decisions and solve problems, is thought to be smaller or underdeveloped in people with bipolar disorder. Environmental triggers are thought to be important too, as those experiencing trauma and abuse as well as high levels of stress may be more prone to developing the disorder. Substance abuse and bipolar disorder often go hand in hand as well, which can further exacerbate symptoms.

Getting Help

Bipolar I disorder seriously impairs a person’s ability to function, and getting the proper treatment is vital to helping manage the difficult symptoms. Medications are sometimes helpful, and psychotherapy is almost always included in treatment models. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a tool often used to help sufferers of bipolar disorder learn how to cope with and manage their symptoms.

Since bipolar disorder and substance abuse disorders so commonly co-occur, finding integrated treatment capable of treating both disorders in a dual diagnosis setting is key. The trained staff at Black Bear Lodge can offer a comprehensive treatment plan suitable for successfully treating people suffering from bipolar I disorder. Group, individual, and family therapy are all useful methods our professionals may employ.

Black Bear Lodge offers dual diagnosis treatment so that if you suffer, or a loved one suffers, from addiction, both disorders can be simultaneously and successfully managed. Call 706-909-9811 now to talk with one of our admissions coordinators about how to get the process started.

Bipolar II Disorder

Unlike the symptoms of raging mania indicative of bipolar I disorder, bipolar II disorder symptoms usually don’t result in direct hospitalization. While mania is still present, it is more of a hypomania state, which doesn’t typically interfere with everyday functioning. Hypomania also never includes the psychotic episodes that can occur during a full-blown manic episode.

To be diagnosed with bipolar II disorder, a person must exhibit at least one major depressive episode as well as one hypomanic episode, lasting at least four days. Bipolar II is characterized most often by the major depressive episodes. Sufferers of bipolar II disorder spend about 50 percent of their time depressed and only about one percent hypomanic, according to a study done in 2002 by the National Institute of Mental Health.

Signs and Symptoms

Bipolar II disorder is a disorder affecting the parts of the brain responsible for mood. Those suffering from any type of bipolar disorder experience dramatic shifts in mood, energy, and levels of activity. These shifts can occur rapidly or over a period of time but are more severe than everyday mood swings and severe enough to affect daily life.

Symptoms of hypomania include:

  • Periods of extreme talkativeness
  • Racing thoughts and ideas
  • Needing less sleep
  • Distractible
  • Engaging in pleasurable activities that may be risky
  • Highly sociable
  • More goal-oriented and focused
  • Poor decision-making

Periods of hypomania are out of character but may not affect social or occupational functioning. They can have disastrous outcomes, however, as those in a hypomanic state may be more prone to excessive spending or other questionable decisions.

Major depressive episodes are far more common in someone suffering from bipolar II disorder.

These symptoms include:

  • Insomnia
  • Fatigue
  • Lack of pleasure in most all aspects of life
  • Extreme sadness
  • Suicidal thoughts and behaviors
  • Inability to concentrate
  • Decreased appetite and weight loss
  • Feelings of worthlessness and guilt

Bipolar II disorder is often misdiagnosed as depression and treated with merely an antidepressant. In order to be diagnosed with bipolar II, someone must also have periods of hypomania, and obtaining the correct diagnosis is vital to receiving the proper treatment and care.

Another risk factor for those suffering from bipolar II disorder is that of substance abuse and addiction. Often, those suffering will choose substance abuse as a way to escape and a form of self-medication. Substance abuse can also increase symptoms and even cause manic or depressive episodes, further masking the real disorder and making diagnosis and treatment more difficult.

Treatment Options

Receiving the proper treatment starts with the correct diagnosis. Those suffering from bipolar disorder may attempt suicide at least once between 25 and 50 percent of the time, as published by the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. Substance abuse and addiction can further complicate treatment. A dual diagnosis treatment center works to treat both disorders simultaneously and successfully through integrated treatment plans.

Many treatments exist to help those suffering from bipolar II disorder to manage their symptoms and lead a happy and healthy life. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, commonly known as CBT, is a tool often employed to teach life skills and to help people understand the triggers that lead to their symptoms. Individual, group and family therapy, as well as medication in some cases, are used as well.

Black Bear Lodge is a treatment center located in the scenic mountainside of northern Georgia and is staffed with medical professionals ready to help develop a comprehensive and individual treatment plan that can address a number of mental health issues, including bipolar disorder. If you’d like more information, call us at 706-909-9811 today.

Sources

  • 1 “Bipolar Disorder.” National Institute of Mental Health. November 2015.
  • 2 “Rapid Cycling and its Treatment.” Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. Accessed 6 February 2018.
  • 3 “Bipolar Disorder.” National Institute of Mental Health. November 2017.
  • 4 “Bipolar Disorder Treatment.” Helpguide. January 2018.
  • 5 Rubin, E. “Bipolar Spectrum Disorder: A Problematic Concept.” Psychology Today, May 9, 2011. Accessed 25 September 2017.
  • 6 “Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders.” SAMHSA. September 20, 2017. Accessed 25 September 2017.
  • 7 Leach, H. “Do You Understand the Bipolar Spectrum?” PsychCentral, August 21, 2013. Accessed 25 September 2017.
  • 8 “Bipolar Disorder.” NAMI, August 2017. Accessed 25 September 2017.
  • 9 Mcgregor, S. “Substance Abuse and Bipolar Disorder.”
    PsychCentral, July 17, 2016. Accessed 25 September 2017.
  • 10 “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5.” Arlington, VA:American Psychiatric Publishing, 2013. Print.
  • 12 Tartakovsky, M. “Understanding and Coping with Cyclothymia.”PsychCentral. 17 July 2016.
  • 13 Carey, B. “Hypomanic? Absolutely. But Oh So Productive!”The New York Times. 22 Mar 2005.

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