Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder, formerly known as manic depression, is a complex mental health condition characterized by dramatic highs and lows. These mood swings can affect your sleep cycle, energy levels, behavior, judgment, and the ability to think clearly, interfering with your relationships, job performance, and academic achievements. Hope by the Sea’s qualified clinicians provide comprehensive care informed by the complexity of bipolar symptoms and offer pathways to stabilize your mood and enhance your quality of life.
Causes and Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder
Researchers have not pinpointed a specific cause of bipolar disorder. Instead, they theorize a combination of factors can make someone more vulnerable to developing this condition.
Genetic predisposition: There’s a strong hereditary component to bipolar disorder. You are at a higher risk if mood disorders run in your family.
Biochemical factors: Imbalances in brain chemicals called neurotransmitters may influence mood regulation, potentially triggering your bipolar symptoms.
Environmental triggers: Stressful life events, substance abuse and traumatic experiences can precipitate the initial episode of bipolar disorder.
Symptoms of bipolar disorder vary between manic and depressive phases. In sharp contrast to the increased energy and confidence associated with manic episodes, the subsequent emotional crashes of depressive episodes can be debilitating.
Manic episodes:
- Increased energy or hyperactivity
- Reduced need for sleep
- Unusually elevated mood or irritability
- Racing thoughts and rapid speech
- Impulsiveness and poor judgment
- Overconfidence or grandiosity
- Higher potential for engaging in risky behaviors
Depressive episodes:
- Persistent sadness or empty mood
- Loss of interest in enjoyable activities
- Significant changes in appetite and sleep patterns
- Fatigue or loss of energy
- Feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt
- Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
- Thoughts of death or suicide
Getting Help for Bipolar Disorder
Untreated bipolar disorder is unpredictable enough to severely disrupt your life. This condition’s cyclical nature may make you dread the return of your symptoms, even during periods of relative stability and calm.
Hope by the Sea offers tailored treatment approaches to address the biological and psychological aspects of bipolar disorder.
- Medication management: Medications such as mood stabilizers, antipsychotics and sometimes antidepressants can reduce the severity of mood swings.
- Psychotherapeutic support: Approaches like individual and group therapy and psychoeducation will help you understand facets of your mental wellness.
- Enhanced coping strategies: You will learn skills to recognize your triggers, reduce your relapse risk and maintain a balanced lifestyle.
Join Us for Bipolar Disorder Treatment at Hope by the Sea
Hope by the Sea is a family-owned treatment center that understands the complexities of living with bipolar disorder and co-occurring addiction. We provide compassionate care in a nonjudgmental environment designed to promote healing. With multiple treatment tracks and a team of experienced mental health professionals, we ensure each client receives the personalized care they need to achieve stability and improve their quality of life.
Bipolar disorder is a lifelong challenge, but you can trust Hope by the Sea to guide you toward a more fulfilling, productive life. Reach out to us today to learn how we build a lifelong foundation for recovery and wellness.
Family Owned and Operated
