How to help someone that has bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder is a kind of depression that can be difficult to handle, especially for those who don't have a good understanding of what it is. Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is a condition where a person will go through lows of depression and then highs of mania or irritability. People will bipolar disorder will appear hyper in both speech and action during the high and then appear lethargic during a low. They will lack much of a social life, will feel irritable, have mood swings, sometimes have impulsive behavior, have racy thoughts and not sleep as much as they used to. Someone with this disorder will often exhibit two or more of these signs, but few will notice it at first because few understand that these symptoms could be a warning of this kind of disorder.

Bipolar disorder will often develop during the younger years; it could show up in childhood, adolescence and even as late as the early twenties. There is speculation that bipolar disorder could be genetic and is triggered in people with it after they have been through a stressful and/or traumatic situation. It is also thought that drug abuse could trigger it as well. Many who have this particular disorder will not find help, probably because they don't personally feel that they might have a problem. When left untreated, however, a person's marriage could be ruined, as well as their schooling, their career and their social life.

They can become aggressive, pessimistic and negative toward most things. People will start to avoid them because they will take the fun out of life around them. Someone who has a friend or a family member should do their best to get this person into counseling. There is, really, very little that a person can do for someone who has bipolar disorder. In most cases, all a person can do is to be as supportive as they can while they try to get this person interested in going counseling. What a person can do is to find out all they can about bipolar disorder so that they can find out if this person really is suffering from this kind of depression.

Online counselors are available to answer any questions and concerns that a person may have regarding the illness. One a person determines whether or not they think their friend or family member is possibly suffering from bipolar disorder, than they might be able to persuade the person to consult a counselor. Many people with this kind of disorder will not want to accept that there is anything wrong, so convincing them to see a counselor can be a hard task, but it must be done. Most will be more open to the idea of consulting an online counselor, because it is convenient and also because they won't have to take too much time and effort to go see a counselor in person. If they can be persuaded to give online counseling a try, they just might be able to get the help and treatment they need.

Jennifer Baxt is the owner of CompleteCounselingSolutions.com which offers a variety of online counseling services. If you would like to know more about Jennifer or any of our online therapists, visit our website.