Expert care to overcome your Anxiety
Get a personalized treatment plan online and start feeling like you again with medication, therapy or both.
*Call for a free and confidential assessment. Insurance may cover 100% of the cost.
What is Bipolar disorder?
Bipolar disorder, formally known as manic depression, is a neurobiological brain disorder that causes extreme mood swings, inducing emotional highs and extreme lows.
Unlike simple mood swings that all of us experience, each episode of bipolar disorder can last for several weeks or even longer. The individual’s emotions will be at a higher high intensity. Bipolar disorder does not have a cure; however, several very effective treatment options are available. These treatment options ultimately depend on the type of symptoms you experience and the severity of your episode; however, individuals who have medical intervention go on to see their overall quality of life significantly improve.
Park Mental Health San Diego has been treating individuals that have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder for several years. Our mental health experts have complete experience and knowledge of Bipolar in all its forms. Our teams here at Park Mental Health will clarify your current situation and help you start to make peace with your mental health challenges.
Rougly 2.8% of the U.S. population has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and nearly 83% of cases are classified as severe. If left untreated, bipolar disorder usually worsens.
Bipolar disorder can surface in many forms depending on the individual. These can be seen as Bipolar l, Bipolar ll, and Cyclothymia. Our expert mental health professionals have intimate experience and knowledge of bipolar disorder in all of its forms.
- Bipolar l: Bipolar l is medically defined as an individual experiencing at least one manic episode within their lifetime that lasts at least seven days or by manic symptoms that become particularly severe that the individual needs immediate medical care.
- Bipolar ll: Individuals who experience bipolar ll will have experienced a depressive episode that lasts at least two weeks. These individuals will have at least one hypomanic episode that lasts about four days.
- Cyclothymia: People diagnosed with cyclothymia experience both hypomanic and depressive episodes. The symptoms experienced are generally less severe and shorter than the depression and mania caused by bipolar l and ll.
You may often feel completely hopeless when struggling with bipolar disorder symptoms; however, we want to assure you that we can effectively help you with peace with all of your mental health challenges and thoroughly support you in moving forward with your life goals.
Signs and Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder is a complex neurobiological brain disorder, and therefore an individual will experience a range of signs and symptoms further depending on the type of bipolar they are experiencing. However, there are various general signs to look out for that may cause concern for an individual developing bipolar. These can be as follows.
Mental signs and symptoms to look out for:
Extreme sadness & unhappiness
Low self-esteem
Thoughts of self harm
Changes in appetite
Exhausted
Racing thoughts
Talking quickly
Unrealistic beliefs
Pessimistic about everything
Lacking energy
Despair and guilt
Disturbed or illogical thinking
Irritable
Physical signs and symptoms to look out for
Quick weight loss or gain
Waking up early
Clumsiness
Aches & pains
Stuttering
Pounding heart
Unfortunately, there is no way to prevent an individual from experiencing bipolar symptoms; however, receiving treatment as early as possible can control your mental health and the disorder itself from worsening. Bipolar disorder is a relatively common mental health disorder, with around 1 in 100 people being diagnosed a year, so you do not ever need to feel alone when battling your symptoms.
Suppose you or a loved one has recently been diagnosed with bipolar. In that case, we have effective strategies that can help prevent minor symptoms from becoming full-blown episodes of depression or mania. This can include:
If you find that your or a loved one’s symptoms of bipolar have become so severe that it has begun to hinder their day-to-day life, we would advise you to seek medical help immediately.
Overcoming bipolar can be a complicated process, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. With the correct treatment for your specific symptoms, experience, severity, and lifestyle, you can learn to manage your fears and paranoia and live a productive and fulfilling life with your loved ones.
Treating severe paranoia will often require a lot of pf patience and involve taking therapies such as:
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Counseling
- Psychotherapy
Treatment for bipolar will wholly depend on the severity of your symptoms and the underlying cause. Your psychiatrist may recommend medication, therapy, or a combination of the two.
Seeking help is the first and most challenging step. The psychiatrist here at Park will run you through a complete analysis so they can understand the severity of your symptoms, duration, content, and the impact it is having on your life currently. We need to know further if you are taking any medication, your medical history, and your family.
If you have found yourself or a loved one experiencing any of the signs or symptoms of anxiety, please do get in contact with a member of our team to receive the care and help you need.
Practicing daily healthy habits that eventually become part of a typical pattern will lead to more effective outcomes regarding your mental health disorder. Creating a healthy routine that you know eases your symptoms when they get bad will help avoid any severe consequences. Below, we have recommended a few activities that immensely helped our past clients recover from bipolar. It is essential to understand that while you may always have to live with your mental illness, you do not have to let it control your life.
- Join a local support group; therefore you can identify with individuals who are going through the same struggles and understand how they tackle them
- Exercise, pick up a new sport, join the gym, or go running in the park
- Take your time making decisions don’t let anyone pressure you into making a decision you don’t wholeheartedly stand by
- Monitor and keep track of your daily moods. Note down factors such as the amount of sleep you got that night, any events that may have been a reason to trigger certain emotions, any medication you are taking
- Develop a schedule that fits you, try your hardest to stick to it even on tough days
We are proud to have some of San Diego’s most experienced consultants and therapists providing our bipolar disorder treatment. Our teams will effectively work with you to help you manage your bipolar symptoms while reducing the intensity of any future episodes.
Therapy treatment for bipolar disorder aims to significantly reduce the amount and the severity of the individual mania and depression episodes to allow them to live as much everyday life as possible. Attending therapy sessions for bipolar can help give your life structure and support through stressful and challenging situations.
Park Mental Health San Diego has a variety of treatment options regarding Bipolar; however, standard therapies can include, Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Family Therapy, and Interpersonal Therapy (IPT). These evidence-based therapies can help you develop vital skills sets such as:
- Improving your ability to interact with people
- Recognize thought and symptoms patterns that cause depression
- Learn how past or even current situation may have been starting point that led to the development of unhealthy thought patterns and behaviors, all of which could be maintaining your distress
- Build or re-build healthy relationships with loved ones
- Develop new skill sets to handle intense emotions that may be disrupting your living life the way you chose
- Build your confidence to handle any challenging situations that may come your way
Bipolar is a complex disorder that affects each one of us differently, which is why we offer bespoke evidence-based approaches to help you develop skills effectively to aid you in breaking the negative cycles.
There are several options if you decide to go down this route which will be effective in aiding you to manage your symptoms of bipolar. Depending on the severity of the person’s bipolar, it is common for medication to be prescribed as a first defense mechanism to help the individual manage their severe symptoms of bipolar. More often than not, this medication will be prescribed alongside your therapy treatment program.
Your consultant psychiatrist will always discuss the medical options before recommending them. You will work together to find the best type of medication for your specific diagnosis and circumstances that work for you.
Many people do not enjoy taking medication for their disorder and believe they have to hide; however, there is never any shame in taking medication to help cope with the symptoms of bipolar every day.
Due to each experiencing unique symptoms, receiving the best results requires analyzing each person to the most effective medication. Our medical professionals at Park will constantly research and finetuning treatment to ensure the individual response is at maximum effectiveness.
To ensure you receive the best results, your progress must be measured periodically. This allows us to make informed decisions based on data regarding your treatment.
Medication can often be prescribed as the first line of treatment for bipolar. Mediation is an effective way to deal with your symptoms, whereas therapy treatment will delve into your mind to understand your root cause of the mental health disorder.
In the beginning, individuals will want to calm their bipolar symptoms before they understand the complex reasons why they may be suffering. Below we have a list of medications we often prescribe to our customers:
Risperidone
Quetiapine
Olanzapine
Aripiprazole
Carbamazepine
Lamotrigine
Valproate
Mood stabilizers
Antipsychotic
Lithium
Anticonvulsant
Getting started has never been so simple.
Together we will help you feel like yourself again. By following the below three steps, we can get you on the road to recovery. We are looking forwards to meeting you and working on understanding how we can effectively benefit your life.
Insurance Verification
Every diagnosis is different. That is why we provide a personal consultation with our clinical team to carefully build a treatment plan tailored to you.
Personal Consultation
Every diagnosis is different. That is why we provide a personal consultation with our clinical team to carefully build a treatment plan tailored to you.
Admission
Our experienced admissions team will assist you in making sure your transition to our facility is a quick, simple and easy process.