Bipolar mood disorder, otherwise called manic depressive disorder or manic depression, is a genuine and serious mental problem. It is a disorder that can lead to unsafe conduct, damaged relations and career, and even self-destructive inclinations if it is not treated properly and on time.

Bipolar disorder is portrayed by outrageous changes in the state of mind, from mania to depression. Between these mood swings, a man with bipolar disorder may encounter normal moods as well. Here is how it can affect a relationship:

Bipolar disorder can turn into an issue from the very begin of a relationship. Exploring any sentimental relationship - whether it is dating or marriage - can be a risky attempt. Including bipolar disorder with its crazy ride of feelings in with the general problems in a relationship, and connections can turn out to be all the more difficult.
However, not everybody with bipolar disorder encounters the state of mood swings of depression and mania, but when those scenes do happen, they can destroy a relationship.
During the hyper stage, a person can lose his or her feeling of judgment. That implies spending all their money carelessly, breaking rules, and taking part in dangerous practices like medication and liquor abuse. When you have a partner with the bipolar issue who gets into a hyper stage, it can be extremely harmful to a great degree for the relationship since they might do things that hurt you or may trouble you financially.
Any number of things, from work problems to financial issues, can lead to fights and put a strain on a marriage. However, if one of the partners has a bipolar disorder, simple stressors can trigger their mood swings. That might be the reason why around ninety percent of the relations and marriages with a bipolar partner, fail.
Having a relationship when you live with bipolar disorder is troublesome. Nevertheless, it can surely be dealt with. It takes the efforts of both the partners to make it work.
The initial step is to get diagnosed and treated for your condition. Your specialist can give you hormone balancing drugs, for example, Lithium, with antidepressants to control your symptoms. Treatment with a clinician or psychologist is additionally vital. With treatment, you can figure out how to control the practices that are putting pressure on your relationship.

Here are a couple of different approaches to alleviate a portion of the weight on your relationship:

Take your medicine as recommended
Take a marriage education and counselling class
Manage your stress in different ways whether it is writing in a diary, taking long strolls, or listening to music
Attempt to adjust work with more calming exercises
Adhere to a customary rest cycle
Eat healthy and exercise frequently
Maintain distance from liquor and caffeine

Bipolar Mood disorder - Is It Hampering Your Relationship?

As per medical studies, bipolar disorder is a personality disorder that is said to affect millions of people around the world, as per medical studies. Extreme mood swings that take a person from a state of euphoria to depression can be called bipolar disorder. While we all go through phases of the same, the patients who suffer from this disorder will usually show a persistent swing or shift between varying moods. The severe shifts will lead to difficulties when it comes to managing one's everyday affairs in a normal manner. The symptoms and signs are also characterised by the phases and mood swings that the patient may be going through. 
Read on to know more about the signs and symptoms of bipolar disorder.

1. Mania: One of the extremes in mood swings experienced by the patient includes extreme euphoria or mania for no apparent, or life altering reason. Feeling overly happy and enthusiastic are the basic symptoms of this phase.

2. Impulsive: The patient can end up feeling elated for a prolonged period of time, with extreme restlessness and impulsive behaviour. They may also end up getting agitated and edgy. This is usually characterised by fidgety behaviour and when the patient speaks too fast. The patient may speak too fast due to racing thoughts which overtake his or her speech and actions.

3. Confidence: In this stage, the patient may also display extraordinary confidence, which may not necessarily be backed by reality. In reality, things may be very different in terms of opportunities, skills, people and other such factors. During this mania phase, the patient may also indulge in risky behaviour that gives an adrenaline rush like gambling and having sexual intercourse with multiple partners. This usually happens when the patient is bolstered by a sudden surge of unfounded confidence.

4. Depression: This is the other end of the spectrum for these patients. When the mania abates, it gives to way to extreme depression and even anxiety.

5. Withdrawal: The patient usually tends to isolate himself or herself from the rest of the family and social circle for a prolonged period, refusing to meet anyone on a normal basis. They also avoid contact with people whom they meet every day, which can have an adverse effect on their work and the rest of the aspects of their lives.

6. Memory and Concentration: In this phase, the patient can also experience difficulty in remembering important things and concentrating on tasks. The patient may also be preoccupied with a number of things which can prevent him or her from making proper decisions. Slow speech and lack of energy may follow as a result of such preoccupation. Preoccupation with death is a common symptom of this phase.

Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder

5 signs that you or your loved one may have bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder is a condition where the patient may go through certain periods of extreme happiness and joy which is known as mania. On the other hand, there may be other periods where the patient may be extremely sad and depressed and even suicidal.

In some individuals, these phases may last quite long whereas, in others, they may change very quickly. However, there are certain common symptoms displayed by patients with bipolar disorder. Let's look at a few of them.

Feeling extremely happy, to the point of being careless

Certain patients, at the onset of bipolar disorder, will feel extremely happy and have their sense of judgment hampered. When patients feel very elated without proper context, or for very small reasons, it could be an indication that the person is experiencing mania.

Feeling extremely depressed

Similarly, on the other end of the spectrum, if a person feels extremely depressed without an appropriate reason, it may be due to bipolar disorder. Also, the severity of depression and the length of time for which a person experiences it is also an indicator of the condition.

Lack of interest in activities which formerly interested you

You may suddenly lose interest in an activity that genuinely interested you earlier. This may include your profession or hobbies.

Loss of appetite during the depression phases

During the phases of depression or sadness, which may sometimes last for months, a person may rapidly lose weight due to lack of interest in food. Even for patients who have shorter cycles of changes lasting for only a few weeks, this will be noticeable.

Extreme restlessness and lack of sleep during the manic phases

When the person enters a manic or happy cycle, it may trigger over enthusiasm, restlessness and lack of sleep. This, like the depression phase, will also vary from patient to patient and may continue for the entire duration of the phase. A jump from a depression cycle into this phase will be definitely noticed by others.

If a few of these symptoms are detected, then the patient should be taken to a mental health professional for appropriate treatment as soon as possible.



5 signs that you or your loved one may have bipolar disorder

Don t like social gatherings? Have you always been the one who avoids family get together? If your answer is affirmative, then you are probably suffering from Avoidant personality disorder.  Avoidant personality disorder is a psychological condition wherein, one feels extremely shy. Becoming overly sensitive to rejection and developing feelings of inadequacy are common signs of this disorder. This disorder can lead to problems in your work life and relationships. 

Symptoms
With APD, the commonly surfacing symptoms would include disapproval and disregard of situations and people, rejection and embarrassment. It generally gets very difficult for the one to get acquainted with new people and form intimate relationships. One generally ends up misinterpreting people s comments and criticism thus, feeling angry and frustrated all the more. 

Causes
The exact cause of APD has not been established yet. It is believed that environmental and genetic factors play a role in this disorder. People who are inherently shy and reserved are usually prone to developing this psychological anomaly. 

How do you treat APD?
In order to treat APD, you can opt for the following modes of treatment:

Psychotherapy: Cognitive behavioral therapy is a treatment option for APD wherein, the doctor counsels on how to change one s thinking patterns and thought process, thus, influencing his/her actions.
Psychodynamic psychotherapy: Psychodynamic therapy involves you becoming aware of the unconscious thoughts. It helps you figure out how your past experiences frame your behavior. Your past emotional pains can be resolved with this technique so that you can move ahead with your life. 
Medications: Anti-depressant medications used to treat depression and anxiety can be used to treat APD.

Prefer Social Isolation - Can it be a Sign of Avoidant Personality Disorder?

Anger is a type of feeling whereas aggression is a type of behaviour. However, the two are frequently confused with each other. At different times individuals use their anger as a reason to act in an aggressive way. Here are a few differences between anger and aggression:

Anger is an acceptable feeling simply like bliss or sadness. Everybody feels angry once in a while. However, numerous individuals deny that they ever feel angry. For others, they have a tendency to wind up being angry to conceal different sentiments and emotions, for example, hurt and sadness. Angry sentiments can discharge endorphins, which are very powerful chemicals inside the body. This rush of energy can help individuals to alleviate themselves from feeling sad or hurt. Nonetheless, covering these very basic and fundamental feelings with anger is not a sound and healthy coping mechanism. Feeling angry is all right, however, the practice that people show when they feel angry may fall into the category of aggression. Anger is a very normal and typical feeling.

Aggression, on the other hand, is a decision. Just because you feel angry and furious does not give you the authorization to treat others poorly. Forceful practices tend to scare the other individual into doing something whether they need to or not. At the point when individuals carry on forcefully, they do not recognise the other individual's sentiments or necessities. Rather, they want the other individual to give in. There are a bunch of approaches to carry on aggressively and it might turn out to be physically injurious. Verbal types of aggression involve making threats or demands. It might incorporate verbally abusing or putting the other individual down. Physical types of aggression may incorporate tossing things, breaking things, hammering things, or physical assaults.

Aggressive conduct can be separated into different classes. These include instrumental aggression and receptive aggression. Instrumental aggression is objective guided aggression in which harm to another is not the essential objective, despite the fact that it can be an optional consequence of the activity. Another sort of aggression is called responsive aggression. Once in a while, it is referred to as hostile aggression. Responsive aggression is conduct that has harm as its primary and in some cases secondary objective. As a rule, this activity is because of an apparent unfairness, insult, or wrongdoing.

Anger is an impermanent emotional state brought on by disappointment and frustration. Aggression, on the other hand, is a regular attempt to hurt a person or to destroy property. In evaluating the conduct, try to make out the difference between anger and aggression that demonstrates emotional issues so as to lead a more normal and well-adjusted life. One can also take the help of anger management or therapy for better evaluation of the source of anger and its surrounding feelings. 

How to Differentiate Between Anger and Aggression?

Facing a major crisis in life? Here are 5 ways to deal with one

Life is a mixture of good and bad times and everyone experiences a crisis at some point in their lives. A life crisis is a situation when everything in your life seems to fall apart, followed by a major event or a series of events such as the loss of a job, death of a family member, a relationship break-up, divorce, to name a few. Whatever the reason may be, each crisis tests your ability to cope with grief. 

Here are some tips on how to face a life crisis bravely and bring your life back on track.

1. Don't run away from the problem
It's very common for people to want to run away from problems when situations are not in their favour. Instead, face the difficulties bravely and try to find ways to deal with it. Accept that it has happened and focus on the next logical course of action.

2. Rule out the negative self-assumptions with logical reasons
After experiencing a major loss in life, it's not uncommon to have negative self-assumptions or feelings of guilt. You may feel traumatised due to the happenings in your life and may start believing that the world is no longer a safe place. This can lead to frustration and sense of futility. In such a situation, don't panic unnecessarily, and give yourself logical reasons instead to prove that most of your negative assumptions are not true.

3. Seek the help of your family and friends
Spend more time with your family and friends, but do not always discuss the negativities you are facing in life. Instead of always telling them how terrible you feel, enjoy some light moments with them. This will help you cultivate a feeling of having a strong and secure support network.

4. Take a short vacation
Take a break from work and spend few days out of your town. It will help rejuvenate your soul and re-energise you to deal with the crisis situation. Vacations prove to work wonders to your physical and mental health, reducing depression and the stress you face to a considerable extents. 

5. Keep a record of your progress
Record whatever positive happens to you each day, even if it's a small thing. Write about how you feel while experiencing and recovering from this crisis. This not only helps in bringing about a positive mind-frame, but also keeps your mind away from the painful events, speeding the healing process.




Facing a Major Crisis in Life? Here are 5 Ways to Win Over It.

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