www.Ups tatePhys i c i ansSC . com | www.Hea l thL i nksUps tate. com | 17 Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that affects an estimated 7 million Americans annually. Recognizing its signs and symptoms early on can help lead to more effective treatment and management of the disease. Steven Krozer, PMHNP-BC, CEO, and head practitioner with iTrust Wellness Group, a psychiatric treatment facility in Greenville, said bipolar disorder is characterized by a series of highs and lows in mood. When an individual with bipolar is experiencing an elevated mood, the condition can manifest itself in extreme irritability, impulsive spending, insomnia, promiscuous behavior and extreme psychosis. During periods of lows, the disorder can cause depressive episodes in which a person has low energy and feels a lack of motivation. “People who struggle with sleep tend to have more severe symptoms,” noted Krozer. He explained that these mood fluctuations can occur over a period of days, weeks or months and typically in a cycle linked to events such as time change or a change of seasons. The different types of bipolar disorder include bipolar 1, which is more severe and less common, and bipolar 2, which is the most commonly diagnosed and less acute form of the disorder. Krozer emphasized that the most important point concerning treatment for bipolar disorder is that it differs from how depression is treated. Antidepressant medications are used to treat depression, whereas an antidepressant prescribed to treat bipolar could either make the response worse or result in no change at all. Medical treatments for bipolar include mood stabilizers and anti-psychotic medications. It cannot be treated with therapy alone, asserted Krozer. He advised a team-based approach combined with taking the appropriate medications. “The most important thing to consider is balance,” stated Krozer, adding that bipolar disorder affects the brain’s ability to regulate electrical and chemical pathways and creates an imbalance. During episodes of mania when people with bipolar are experiencing elevated moods, their dopamine levels are too high, whereas dopamine levels drop too low amid cycles of depression. Traditional treatments such as mood stabilizers can be used to help regulate the chemical and electrical imbalance bipolar causes, essentially fixing the wiring in a person’s brain. “Early intervention and treatment are key,” Krozer said. “We’re trying to promote getting effective and timely care so we can optimize the function of their brain.”
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