Bipolar

13 Pages 3324 Words

nly about .5% have bipolar disorder. The disorder is most common in males in children (Childhood 1). In adults one percent or about four million people of the population is affected by the disorder (Who Gets Bipolar 1). Bipolar Disorder affects women equally (Expert 1). The normal range of age that the disorder appears in is between the ages 15 and 25 (Alternative 1). The cause of Bipolar disorder is still a mystery. Doctors know that there is a strong genetic condition that may have something to do with it (Childhood 1). One of the most important things to have when diagnosing a child with bipolar disorder is to have an accurate family history (Facts 1). With one parent with the disorder they say the chances of each child having it is 15-30%, when both parents have the disorder the risk incr3eases to 50-75% of each child having it. In siblings and fraternal twins there is a 15-25% percent, and in identical twins there is about a 70% chance of having the disorder. (About Early-Onset 4). In adolescents a loss or some other traumatic event might trigger an episode of either depression or mania. Later episodes of mania or depression may occur independently because of any other obvious trigger, such as stress, or the episode may worsen with any additional added stresses. Puberty is also a time of risk for children (About Early-Onset 3). There are also factors of the person’s environment, stressful life events can trigger an episode from anything from a death in the family to losing a job or Determining Bipolar Disorder in children is harder then adults because of the mistakes doctor’s make in their diagnosis. having a baby, or moving to a different city (Bailey 1). Nearly anything can trigger a persons change in mood, there might not be any obvious triggers at all (Bipolar 1). On average people with Bipolar Disorder, especially children, usually go through three to four doctors, and go through about eight years trying to find what works...