Portfolio
News and Feature Stories

INTELLIGENCER JOURNAL (Lancaster, Pa.)
Cover, Business Monday

Bi-Polar Illness: The symptoms, the stigma, the treatment, the hope  (Part two in a series), Continued

Symptoms
In describing this illness, Brettschneider said that when someone has bi-polar illness, they have episodes of depression that may include crying, loss of appetite, loss of energy, or not doing well at work or school.

They also go through stretches of time when they are okay, but then they cycle into "up," or hypo-manic or manic, episodes.

These episodes may last anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks.  During this time, people seem not just "okay," but actually are feeling too good, laughing at everything, perhaps, or talking very rapidly.

It is going back and forth from the extreme of depression on one hand, to the hypo-manic or manic extreme on the other hand, that characterizes bi-polar illness.

Many individuals describe racing thoughts during these episodes, too.  They have lots of excess energy and cannot focus on just one thing. Their moods are either super irritable or super happy, or sometimes both.

It is not uncommon for someone with bi-polar disorder to go four or five days in a row with hardly any sleep, for example, and yet be so "up" that they are doing things like painting their entire kitchen three times in a row. Or they go out jogging at 3 a.m.  Or suddenly they are compulsively exercising or doing other behaviors that they normally do not do. 

Brettschneider said it is important to understand that many individuals might have one of those things for a day here or there.  But for those with bi-polar disorder, it is kind of a package. 

"Some people get grandiose, too," he said. "They feel they have special powers or abilities.  And some may suffer from delusions and hallucinations. 

"A significant number of patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder will never get 'psychotic,' experiencing delusions and/or hallucinations, but this doesn't mean they struggle any less with their disease. 

While early diagnosis is still a challenge because the symptoms are not always easy to recognize, the good news is that once individuals are diagnosed, many can be helped.

"Most of the people I treat for bi-polar disorder live active lives, hold jobs, and participate with their families, and do good things."

Treatment