What does bipolar disorder mean

It used to be known as manic depression. Symptoms of bipolar disorder depend on which mood you're experiencing. Unlike simple mood swings, each extreme episode of bipolar disorder can last for several weeks or even longer.

You may initially be diagnosed with clinical depression before you have a manic episode sometimes years later , after which you may be diagnosed with bipolar disorder. During an episode of depression, you may have overwhelming feelings of worthlessness, which can potentially lead to thoughts of suicide.

If you're feeling suicidal, read about where to get urgent help for mental health. If you're feeling very depressed, contact a GP, your care co-ordinator or speak to a local mental health crisis team as soon as possible.

Find a local NHS urgent mental health helpline. You could also call NHS if you're not sure what to do or if you cannot speak to your local NHS urgent mental health helpline. If you want to talk to someone confidentially, call the Samaritans free on You can talk to them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Or visit the Samaritans website or email jo samaritans. You may feel very creative and view the manic phase of bipolar as a positive experience. But you may also experience symptoms of psychosis , where you see or hear things that are not there or become convinced of things that are not true. The high and low phases of bipolar disorder are often so extreme that they interfere with everyday life.

Family intervention is where you and your family work with mental health professionals to help to manage relationships. This should be offered to people who you live with or who you are in close contact with. The support that you and your family are given will depend on what problems there are and what preferences you all have. This could be group family sessions or individual sessions. Your family should get support for 3 months to 1 year and should have at least 10 planned sessions.

If you want to return to work, you should be offered support with that including training. You should get this support if your care is managed by your GP or by your community mental health team. You might not be able to work or to find any. Your healthcare professionals should think about other activities that could help you back to employment in the future.

Your healthcare team should help you to make a recovery plan. The plan should help you to identify early warning signs and triggers that may make you unwell again and ways of coping. Your plan should also have people to call if you become very distressed.

CPA is a package of care that is used by secondary mental health services. You will have a care plan and someone to coordinate your care. All care plans should include a crisis plan. CPA should be available if you have a wide range of needs from different services or you are thought to be a high risk. Both you and your GP should be given a copy of your care plan. Your carers can be involved in your care plan and given a copy if you give your consent for this to happen.

You can speak to your doctor about your treatment. You could ask what other treatments you could try. Tell your doctor if there is a type of treatment that you would like to try. Doctors should listen to your preference. A second opinion means that you would like a different doctor to give their opinion about what treatment you should have.

You can also ask for a second opinion if you disagree with your diagnosis. But your doctor should listen to your reason for wanting a second opinion. An advocate is independent from the mental health service. They are free to use. They can be useful if you find it difficult to get your views heard.

There are different types of advocates available. Community advocates can support you to get a health professional to listen to your concerns. And help you to get the treatment that you would like.

You can complain about your treatment or any other aspect of the NHS verbally or in writing. You can learn to manage your symptoms by looking after yourself. Selfcare is how you take care of your diet, sleep, exercise, daily routine, relationships and how you are feeling. Routine helps many people with their mental wellbeing.

It will help to give a structure to your day and may give you a sense of purpose. This could be a simple routine such as eating at the same time each day, going to bed at the same time each day and buying food once per week. Your healthcare professionals should offer you a combined healthy eating, exercise and sleep programme. You can find more information about wellbeing any physical health at: www.

You could join a support group. A support group is where people come together to share information, experiences and give each other support. You might be able to find a local group by searching online. The charity Bipolar UK have an online support group. They also have face to face support groups in some areas of the country.

Their contact details are in the Useful contacts at the bottom of this page. Rethink Mental Illness have support groups in some areas. You can find out what is available in your area if you follow this link: www. Or you can contact our General Enquiries team on or info rethink.

Recovery colleges are part of the NHS. They offer free courses about mental health to help you manage your symptoms. They can help you to take control of your life and become an expert in your own wellbeing and recovery. You can usually self-refer to a recovery college. But the college may inform your care team. To see if there is a recovery college in your area you can use a search engine such as Google. Learning to spot early signs of mania or depression is important in self-management.

The idea of the WRAP is to help you stay well and achieve what you would like to. The WRAP looks at areas like how you are affected by your illness and what you could do to manage them. There are guides that can help with this. You can ask your healthcare professional to make one with you or ask them for a template of one. There is more information about the WRAP in the further reading section at the bottom of this page.

This is a guide based on information from people who have or support someone with bipolar disorder. You can download it here: www. There can be complications and risks for people who live with bipolar disorder. But these risks can be lessened with the right support and treatment. You might have an illness where you experience psychosis, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. You are more likely to try to take your own life if you have a history of attempted suicide and depression.

It is important that you get the right treatment for your symptoms of depression and have an up to date crisis plan. If you have mania or hypomania you may struggle to manage your finances. You may spend lots of money without thinking about the effect that it may have on your life. This means that you pick someone that you trust to manage your finances if you lack mental capacity to manage them by yourself.

You can work with your carer and mental health team. You can form an action plan. This can say what they can do if you have a period of mania or hypomania and you start to make poor financial decisions. People with bipolar disorder have a higher rate of physical illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease. You should have a physical health check at least once every year to help manage these risks.

Drinking alcohol, smoking or taking other drugs while taking medication could stop your medication working properly and make your symptoms worse. You must stop driving if you have an episode of severe depression, hypomania, mania or psychosis. You can speak to your GP. You should be given your own assessment through NHS mental health services to work out what effect your caring role is having on your health.

And what support you need. Such as practical support and emergency support. You can also search for groups on the Carers Trust website:. You might find it easier to support someone with bipolar disorder if you understand their symptoms, treatment and self-management skills. You should be aware of what you can do if you are worried about their mental state. It can be helpful to know contact information for their mental health team or GP.

You could find out from your relative if they have a crisis plan. As a carer you should be involved in decisions about care planning. The medical team should encourage the person that you care for to allow information to be shared with you. You can use a WRAP to get well, stay well and make your life your own. It was developed in by a group of people who were searching for ways to overcome their own mental health issues and move on to fulfilling their life dreams and goals.

Website : www. Bipolar UK This is a user led charity working to enable people affected by bipolar disorder to take control of their lives. You can email or leave a voicemail to arrange a call back with a staff member.

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