It Can Be Hard To Diagnose Bipolar Symptoms in Children

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It Can Be Hard To Diagnose Bipolar Symptoms in Children

Monday, March 30th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed

Bipolar in children and symptoms of bipolar covers a ranging degree of seriousness. It is occasionally difficult to detect the symptoms of bipolar and bipolar in children due to this as confusion with other issues like hyperactivity, attention deficit or allergies in children. This can also be misconstrued in adults as other things especially if they are on drugs and/or alcohol.

Manic Depression is what we now know as Bipolar Disorder. While it can be hereditary and environmental, according to studies it is suggested that the primary cause of this is due to a shortage of Serotonin, a natural occurring chemical that balances and controls mood. Extreme mood swings are the main symptom due to the shortage of Serotonin but there are also other things to look out for as there are four phases to the disorder.

Typical Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder and the Four Phases:

The four phases are Mania or Manic, Hypomania, Depression and Mixed episodes. These moods are split on each side of normal and balanced moods that most people vary little from. The variances can come in degrees where some people are more prone to episodes of mania over depression or vice versa. However, some can alternate frequently or infrequently between the two sides of normal.

People have extreme energy and euphoria in the manic or mania stage. They tend to talk fast and seem hyperactive in general.

When compared to the mania phase, the hypomania phase is less severe. However, they live their daily life in a way that others describe as an exaggeratedly happy person. This makes it harder to recognize but the impulsive trends come through sometimes which cause them to go into a full blown manic episode at some point.

In the depression phase, there is a tendency to sleep more, gain weight, have higher irritability and unpredictable mood swings involving guilt and can lose touch with reality.

A mixture of high energy with a depressed mood is what is experienced in the mixed emotion phase. It is usually a combination of anxiety mixed with racing thoughts.

Common Symptoms of Bipolar in Children:

Irritability, frequent mood swings, hyperactivity and impulsivity, restlessness and fidgeting are included as some of the distinctive symptoms of bipolar in children which are similar to the four phases.

Studies show that a staggering 80% of bipolar children may come from families where both parents were either alcoholics or may have had bipolar disorder themselves.

The symptoms of bipolar in children fit the ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) due to the guidelines set out for diagnosing it. However, it is not recognized until later in life.

To Wrap It Up:

It is vital that the symptoms of bipolar in children be diagnosed as early as possible as episodes may get worse in time.

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