Bipolar disorder in children and adolescents is less studied compared to bipolar disorder in adults so it goes under-diagnosed and is also misdiagnosed very often. According to recent research, there are high rates of co-morbid attention deficit and disruptive disorders, giving researchers an option to analyze them as probable developmental precursors of juvenile bipolarity.
bi polar Disorder
Bipolar disorder is a brain disorder that leads to persistent, overwhelming and uncontrollable changes in moods, activities, thoughts and behaviors. Children have a much greater chance of having bipolar disorder if there is a family history of the disorder or depression. This clearly means that parents cannot choose whether or not their children will have bipolar disorder.
According to one study, bipolar disorder affects at least 750,000 children in the United States. Despite that, it is quite tough to diagnose in children. Even worse, if left untreated, the disorder puts a child at risk for school failure, substance abuse and suicide. It is of paramount importance that you consult with a qualified professional when trying to find out if your child is suffering from bipolar disorder and begin treatment as soon as possible.
Psychopharmacological treatment
There is evidence to suggest that juvenile depression may be pre-bipolar. Limited data on the natural course and outcome demonstrate that juvenile bipolar disorder is a recurrent illness as in the case in adults, and is attached with functional impairment. The psychopharmacological treatment of juvenile bipolar disorder is remarkably understudied and treatment is based on studies of adults.
This means there is an urgent need for epidemiological studies of juvenile bipolar disorder and rigorous research to establish the efficacy of anti-manic drugs. Issues related to co-morbidity and temperamental predispositions to juvenile bipolarity need greater clarity, as they may have significant treatment and research implications.
Acceptance of bi polar disorder
The concept that bipolar disorder is present among children and adolescents has been increasingly accepted in the recent past. According to recent study in the child assessment unit at Cambridge Hospital in Massachusetts, a quarter of children aged 3 to 13 were given a diagnosis of bipolar disorder by their clinicians and were given mood stabilizers or antipsychotics. The rest of the patients were believed to have bipolar disorder by their parents when the problem was in a different area.
Traditional bi polar illness
Not so long ago, bipolar disorder was considered rare or virtually nonexistent among adolescents and children. It is very important that diagnosis of bipolar disorder in childhood be seen in the light of a bigger cultural, political and financial scenario. Shame and stigma attached with mental illness is cultural and it takes years to break these ideas. Traditional bipolar illness is now known as one of the most heritable of the mental illnesses. Having your child diagnosed as such may destroy the stigma by making the child's condition an illness rather than the fault of anyone.
Chemical imbalance
Telling parents that their child has a mental illness, although tough, is quite easy compared to analyzing family interactions that leads to behavior, a routine that is sure to invoke parental guilt. Instead of having to deal with issues in the parent-child relationship parents can see their child as ill and in urgent need of increased nurturing and understanding. Such intervention can be enormously relieving to parents.
Studies have proven that the new dynamic between parent and child is far more positive and nurturing when parents do not feel at fault for their child’s behavior and lack of control. The physician can get a more positive result for a child who has been diagnosed as suffering from a chemical imbalance that can be eradicated with proper medication and care. Misperceptions and misunderstandings can give rise to delayed diagnoses, misdiagnoses or no diagnoses which are serious issues when you consider the fact that the child needs immediate assistance to begin to deal with the illness and improve.
