Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder causes you to swing between extreme bouts of depression and mania, negatively affecting your work, relationships, family, and overall quality of life. The Weekend Clinic, under the direction of Peter Nguyen, DO, offers telepsychiatry services from their Washington, DC, office to help you manage bipolar disorder and get control over your mental health. Call today to schedule your consultation, or use the online tool. 

What is bipolar disorder?

Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition in which you experience bouts of extreme depression alternated with periods of mania. The disorder interferes with your clarity of thought. 

Depressive bouts are characterized by sleep disruptions and extreme feelings of sadness and hopelessness. You may have trouble motivating for the simplest daily tasks and see no point in life. 

During manic periods, you have extremely high energy, sleep little, and feel aggravated or euphoric. You may make rash judgments and risky decisions. 

How do I know I need help for bipolar disorder?

Patients with bipolar disorder often resist help because, during depressive periods, they feel so low they have no motivation to seek therapy. During manic periods, a bipolar disorder patient feels so productive and euphoric that therapy seems unnecessary. 

If you have family and friends that are concerned about your mental health, it’s time to seek therapy. Bipolar disorder can also make it hard for you to hold down a job. You may also create legal, financial, and relationship problems during your manic periods that indicate you have a problem with bipolar disorder. 

Without treatment, the highs and lows of bipolar disorder will not go away and may worsen. 

What causes bipolar disorder?

Bipolar disorder isn’t a matter of just “controlling yourself.” It’s a very real mental health condition caused by physical changes in your brain. Bipolar disorder often runs in families, so if you have a close relative with the condition, you have a greater risk of developing it, too. 

If you schedule an appointment at the Weekend Clinic with symptoms that suggest bipolar disorder, your therapist goes over your current health, mental health concerns, and family history. After a thorough discussion of your behaviors and concerns, your therapist helps you make a diagnosis of bipolar disorder or another possible mental health condition. 

What’s the treatment for bipolar disorder?

Bipolar disorder treatment usually involves a combination of medication management and individual therapy to help you manage troubling thoughts. Bipolar disorder can sometimes exist alongside substance use disorder. Your therapist can also help you with any problems related to illicit drugs or alcohol. 

If you or a loved one suspects they have bipolar disorder, reach out to the Weekend Clinic to set up an appointment. Call today or use the website to schedule online.