How To Help A Loved One With Bipolar Disorder

While people of all ages can have bipolar disorder, most people first experience symptoms in their mid-20s. Bipolar disorder causes significant mood disturbances, making it difficult to understand how to help a loved one with bipolar disorder. Since bipolar disorder requires medications to regulate and control, regular visits to a psychiatrist are an essential part of any successful bipolar and addiction treatment program in NJ.

Mental health disorders can increase your chances of developing a substance abuse disorder and can negatively affect multiple areas of your life, including your relationships and career. Bipolar disorder, which is a progressive and chronic mood disorder, impacts 5.7 million adults in the United States annually. Bipolar disorder can make it hard to live a normal life, especially if you don’t receive treatment. 

What is Bipolar Disorder?

Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition that causes mood changes. Bipolar disorder can cause you to experience depressive episodes and manic episodes. Depressive and manic episodes can occur one right after another, or months apart. But in order to have bipolar disorder, depressive and manic episodes must last for at least two continuous weeks.

When you cycle between depression and mania, it can make it difficult to maintain a normal life. Depressive episodes can cause suicidal thoughts, crying spells, and lack of motivation, while manic episodes can cause insomnia, psychosis, and risk-taking behavior.

The cause of the bipolar disorder is unknown. However, having a close family member with a bipolar disorder or a history of serious mental illness can increase your risk of developing bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is sometimes difficult to diagnose because it causes shifts between manic and depressive episodes, which is why early treatment is imperative.

Bipolar disorder can also cause:

• Anger and aggression
• Anxiety and restlessness
• Rapid speech
• Suicidal thoughts
• Behavior and personality changes

Rapid cycling bipolar disorder is especially dangerous because it can cause you to transition directly from a depressive episode to a manic one, which can lead to sleep deprivation and erratic behavior. Bipolar disorder is manageable with addiction counseling and medications. Learning how to identify symptoms of a depressive and manic episode, as well as how to help a loved one with bipolar disorder, is important because our addiction treatment program can help adjust your medications when you experience acute symptoms.

How to Help a Loved One With Bipolar Disorder

If you are wondering how to help a loved one with bipolar disorder, the best answer is to help them get connected with treatment. 

You can also ask our mental health treatment center about how to help a loved one with bipolar disorder. Helping your loved one make appointments and providing transportation is a great way to support your loved one during recovery. Making sure you recognize common symptoms of depressive and manic episodes is beneficial. Because addressing episodes early can prevent a mental health crisis from occurring.

Getting Help Today

If you’re wondering how to help a loved one with bipolar disorder, contacting Victory Bay is the first step. Call us today at [Direct] to find out more about bipolar disorder and our specialized treatment programs.