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Finding a Center with Bi Polar Disorders
April 25th, 2005
By Stal Herz
A constant flow of positive in negative in life is to be expected and
embraced, but for millions of people, the swing of emotions is an
everyday nightmare that never stops. While there are times when we go
from extreme to extreme, it is usually something that doesn’t
last too long and can be dealt with in a swift and timely manner.
For some people however, it is nightmare that leaves them in the
middle of a state of panic with the inability to calm down of find a
center - All they can do is fall into a deep state of depression.
There is no middle ground. Bi Polar disorder deals the agonizing
swings of states between extreme depression and manic energy boosts
in which it is impossible to sit still and relax.
While there is no known cure all treatment, it is generally believed
that finding this disorder early makes it all the easier to treat.
The most common form of treatment is severe amounts of medication,
which will usually leave you with side effects, but can calm you down
enough to deal with everyday life. However, just adding medication to
Bi Polar disease is not really treating it; it is only subduing it.
An important thing to realize when treating this disorder is that the
patient who is experiencing Bi Polar disorder may not be the judge of
how they are feeling and reporting it to the doctors because they may
be in the middle of switching from one extreme to the other.
Therefore, if you feel as if you may be swinging from one extreme to
the other, keeping a journal of your emotions for a month and then
bringing that to your doctor may help them in prescribing medication
and arranging treatments for you. This can give them a first hand
account of what is happening, which allows for them to recognize patterns
in each individual.
It is also important that when someone is changing between the two
opposite poles that they are kept in a stable condition. It is here
that they are the most normal, and it is that time when there lives
need to be stabilized.
This is there middle ground.
Natural centering techniques such mediation and yoga are outstanding
ways to bring one to the center. It is very important that the basic
necessities of life are brought about to give the individual something
to hold onto - Breathing, drinking water and exercise.
Knowing that there is a center is often times the best starting point
to recovery, and is a distraction from the constant cycles of
medications that one must go through.
Some of the most distressing news about Bi Polar disorder, as it is with
many uncontrollable conditions, is the enormously expensive to treat, so
if you are looking to spend that type of money, you should invest in
psychiatric help as well. One without the other is useless.
Often times, there is something that triggers an episode of Bi Polar
disorder that is hidden within the mind, usually stemming from a
childhood incident, such as molestation or an early death of a loved one,
that causes the mind to shift from one extreme to the other in order to
keep from dealing with reality.
Once this event is realized, the treatment and road to recovery is easier
to treat both mentally and with medication.
In the early days of treating Bi Polar disorder, then known commonly as
manic depression, shock treatment was used to literally JOLT the patient
out of their state of constant mood swings. Because of the severity of
the practice, it was thought to be barbaric and replaced with Lithium,
which is less painful but can leave you with an even emptier feeling
afterwards than shock treatment.
Acupuncturists have long contended that a simple redirection of blood and
nerves within the body can even things out just a bit, so if you want to
try something without any side effects other than time spent, it might be
a goof idea to check out your local acupuncturists.
Now, if you still are thinking about medications, you should really do
your homework on what works best for you, as well as how they will combine
with other medications you are taking. The most common drugs prescribed
for Bi Polar disorder are Topamax for extreme manic conditions and Lithium
as an anti-depressant, along with Paxil and Prozac, but the effects of
these drugs seem to fade very quickly, and are easy to become used to.
Lithium brings about the best success when it comes to controlling mania,
but can induce mild depressive states, which requires even more medication
to balance that out. This brings you into a cycle of controlling your
extreme behavior, but it also runs the risk of creating a major dependency,
as well as bad headaches and shakes.
Whatever the treatment options that you choose, the patient should not
have to go through them alone. It is important that family members and
loved ones help to bring the person back into the world with a stabilizing
show of unity.
Sometimes, just knowing there is a middle ground is enough.
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