Having a child with bipolar disorder is a kind of experience that can be very difficult to deal with. Many parents will feel that it’s the end of the world when their child diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
However, diagnosing bipolar children is not as easy as any other illness because this kind of disorder is difficult to diagnose. Since it’s typified by the occurrence of two very distinctive moods and that the child will experience, manic (the high) and depressive (the low), bipolar disorder can be different in every child.
A child with bipolar disorder may engage in very risky, possibly life threatening, behaviors when in a manic episode. On the other hand, the depressive episode may lead him or her to have a thought of suicide.
What are the symptoms of bipolar children? The symptoms can be broken down into 2 categories due to the two types of moods experienced by the sufferer.
Manic symptoms
- Feel very happy
- Impulsive behavior
- Overly energetic
- Distracted easily
- Agitation
- Excessively self esteem
- Fast talking
- Lack of ability to focus or concentrate
- Risky manners
Depressive symptoms
- Feeling of sadness
- Hopelessness
- Crying for no reason
- Lack of happiness
- Tiredness
- Problem with sleeping
Getting proper diagnosis is a must when it comes to bipolar children. You can’t diagnose it by yourself, so that you need a help from a doctor of psychiatrist to properly diagnose whether or not your child suffers from bipolar disorder.
Treatment for bipolar children
Children with bipolar disorder need to get proper treatment and medication so that this illness won’t cause them destructive. Medication and counseling are the most common treatments for bipolar children. The parents and all of family members are usually involved in treating a child with bipolar in order to make sure that every family member understand how important is their contribution in coping with bipolar in their brother or sister.
A mood stabilizer such as lithium and antidepressants are the most common drugs prescribed in treating bipolar children. In addition to this, a child with bipolar is usually treated with psychotherapy for the best result.
Tags: bipolar children, bipolar disorder children, bipolar disorder in children, bipolar in children, children of bipolar parents, children with bipolar, children with bipolar disorder