Bipolar Disorder: Awareness & Help

The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that some 5.7 million American adults are affected by bipolar disorder, according to a Newsweek cover story dated 5/26/08.

According to Newsweek:

1) The bipolar brain is miswired, but no one knows why it develops that way.

2) Scientists do know that bipolar children have too much activity in a part of the brain called the amygdala, which regulates emotions, and too little in the prefrontal cortex, which regulates rational thought. "They get so emotional that they can't think" says Mani Pavuluri, a child psychiatrist at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

3) More than the rest of us, a bipolar child perceives the world as a dramatic and dangerous place. Said one mother, "What happens the first time [my bipolar child] says to me, 'I'm not taking my pills'?" "I can't put them down his throat."

Learn more about bipolar disorder and how to cope with it by clicking on this link: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/bipolar_disorder_symptoms_treatment.htm

We also recommend this video, which presents a Bipolar Overview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl95tsiLvyM&feature=related

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• bipolar disorder
• awareness
• help