Bipolar mood disorder is often described as a disorder in which a person alternates between two states i.e. a manic and a depressive state. When the patient of bipolar mood disorder moves from one state to the other, the disorder can affect his/her behavior and personality. People with bipolar depression disorder exhibit several common symptoms, depending the state that they are in.
What are some bipolar depression symptoms?
When the patient is in the manic mode, they have the feelings of strong happiness and are often highly driven and creative. In fact, some very popular writers and artists have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and have exhibited most of its symptoms. For example, people who exhibit bipolar depression symptoms may talk incessantly and feel that they have a difficult time getting their point across, yet they have the ability to “think outside the box” and are able to attack certain intellectual problems from a strange perspective. In this state, they may sleep and eat little. Some people with bipolar depression describe feelings that can only be described as extreme mania. Symptoms may include hostile behavior, a tendency to destroy property, and experiencing delusions or even hallucinations.
The other side of bipolar disorder is the lower end, the state of deep depression. In this state, a person may exhibit a feeling of hopelessness, a loss of interest in work or family, anxiety, pessimism, a loss of interest in sex, and a desire to sleep nearly all day. Some people also exhibit other bipolar depression symptoms, such as weight loss (or weight gain), thoughts of suicide, physical complaints (headaches, stomachaches, sensitivity to light), social withdrawal, and excessive use of alcohol or drugs.
Depression symptoms can strike anyone at any time. Unfortunately for many people across the globe, depression is an increasingly common disease with symptoms that may or may not lead to a proper diagnosis. Depression symptoms can cover a wide spectrum of different ailments, both mental and physical, so if you think depression is only a mental illness – think again. Be sure to consult your doctor before you take any steps to try and cure yourself of something you think might be depression just because you may have one or two “depression symptoms.” Not all depression can be cured with a simple dose of an anti-depressant, as some forms of this troubling ailment can stem from other, non-chemical factors.
There are two depression symptoms which have been long known to be the most common. The first of these is an overwhelming feeling of sadness or a complete lack of hope. The second of the most commonly diagnosed depression symptoms is if you feel like everyday activities have completely lost their thrill. You may feel like not even getting out of bed because you do not care to do anything during the day. While normal, non-depressed people may feel these symptoms from time to time, that is completely normal. What you should look out for is whether or not you feel these symptoms on an everyday basis, and if they are actually affecting your everyday life.
Other depression symptoms include physical ailments such as a complete loss of appetite all the time which could make you lose unhealthy amounts of weight. Furthermore, symptoms could make you feel tired all the time or make you feel like you are completely restless and unable to sit still for minutes on end. As with the mental depression symptoms, remember that just because you feel the physical symptoms from time to time does not mean you are clinically depressed and it simply means you have something going on in your life which can make you feel sad or disheartened for a short span of time.
Bipolar Depression Treatment
Bipolar depression treatment does not necessarily have to take place in a clinical environment. There are certain diseases in this world which you should never attempt to do a self-diagnosis with and one such disease is depression. It can be impossible for the average person to determine if what he or she thinks is clinical depression is actually just contributed to some sort of problem going on in their life at a particular moment in time. Since depression treatment should never be done without the aid of a doctor’s supervision, you should not try and engage in depression treatment before you make sure you are actually depressed. However, once a diagnosis has been made, you can choose to either receive depression treatment in the form of pharmaceuticals or as a variety of home remedies.
The clinical depression treatment has a wide range of different options. If you are just feeling slightly depressed all of the time, perhaps all you need is some professional counseling or just to visit with your loved ones from time to time. For more severe depression, you will certainly want to use some sort of antidepressant drug treatment, with or without counseling. However, if the doctor deems that neither of those depression treatment options would be enough for you to deal with your depression, then hospitalization may be the best option for you.
SSRI, MAOI and Psychotherapy
Bipolar depression symptoms can be treated in a couple of ways. Medication has proven to be effective in battling the ailment by curing each of the bipolar depression symptoms. SSRI’s and MAOI’s are some of the most popular types of medications. Psychotherapy has also proven to be effective. Many doctors believe that a combination of the two is the best approach, providing a prescription and offering one-on-one or group therapy to those in need.
Home Remedies for Bipolar Depression Treatment
As an alternative to common depression treatment options, you can choose to undertake several home remedies. If your depression is extremely severe, however, consider taking antidepressants before you engage in any home treatment techniques. Most of the home remedies do not feature any strange chemicals or any undiscovered natural herbs, but instead focus on simply motivating yourself to do tasks which your depression may prevent you from doing.
Self-Motivation as the Treatment
Self-motivation is the key to taking back your life from the stranglehold of bipolar depression and should be complemented with a nutritious diet and plenty of exercise. Also, make sure you receive adequate amounts of sleep and try to find some friends or support groups to help you get through any difficult bouts of bipolar depression you may suffer from time to time.
