Rose - Bipolar Child Survival Guide for Children

Foranyone with bipolar disorder leading any kind of semblance of a normal life canprove challenging. The condition causes their moods to fluctuate quite a greatdeal. From one day to the next they can suffer from periods of being very happyto being very depressed and irritable. Also the fluctuations between thesemoods can happen without any warning and very quickly.

Althoughmost people believe that Bipolar Disorder is something that only adults areaffected by, there are many children who are affected by this disorder as well.Although the exact reasons why a child may suffer from this particular mentalhealth problem are not know it is believed that if they have a relative whosuffers from this condition the chances that they will do as well is muchhigher.

Justas in adults there are 3 different types of Bipolar Disorder that a child couldbe suffering from.

Type1 Bipolar Disorder I

Aperson who suffers from this particular form will have experienced at least 1full manic episode along with very severe periods of depression. Previouslythis particular form of this disorder was referred to as manic depression.

Type2 Bipolar Disorder II

Whensomeone is diagnosed with suffering from this form of Bipolar Disorder theywill never have experienced a full manic episode. Instead what these peopleexperience periods when their levels of energy and impulsiveness are muchhigher than would be considered normal. But these experiences wont be as highas those that are known as Hypomania. Also between such episodes such peopletend to suffer from periods of depression.

Type3 Cyclothymia

Thefluctuations in a persons moods are far less intense when a person suffersfrom this particular form of Bipolar Disorder. Again as with Bipolar DisorderII their moods will alternate between periods of hypomania (being veryenergetic) and periods of depression.

Onething you need to be aware of when it comes to the last two forms of bipolardisorder if the right questions are not asked then a person can be diagnosedwith suffering from depression rather than these.

Generallymost people who suffer from bipolar disorder cannot provide any clear reasonswhy they suffer from manic or depressive episodes. However there are certainfactors, which can often contribute to these episodes being triggered includingthe following:

Changesthat occurred in their life as a baby

Theycould be caused by medication that they are required to take such asantidepressants or steroids

Theyhave periods where getting sleep is difficult, in fact they suffer frominsomnia

They maybe taking psychoactive drugs

Whena child develops this particular form of illness it is often referred to asearly-onset bipolar disorder. In some cases this can prove to be more severethan the illness that teenagers and adults develop. Plus diagnosing a childwith this disorder can be difficult as they often suffer from the symptoms alot more often plus their mood fluctuations occur more frequently.

Alsowhen seeking a diagnosis for this particular mental health problem parents needto be aware that their child may well be suffering from other medical problems.The kinds of medical problems that can often occur when a child suffers fromBipolar Disorder include the follow:

A childwho suffers from this problem is at risk of suffering from substance abuse.

There isa possibility that the child may also suffer from ADHD (Attention DeficitHyperactivity Disorder)

Thechild could be suffering from certain anxiety disorders especially separationanxiety

They mayin fact be suffering from other forms of mental illness where the symptoms arevery similar to those that people will suffer from