Causes, symptoms and treatment of bipolar psychosis
Psychoses can take different forms, it all depends on the patient's lifestyle. A common indicator of all psychoses is an altered perception and understanding of the surrounding reality. The defense mechanism, which, when depressed, shows a positive effect, can develop internal dynamics and turn into a problem in the form of hallucinations, disturbances in thinking processes, delirium - these are signs of a state of a psychotic type.
Everyone experiences mood swings. Sometimes it is suppressed, there is tension in it and the consciousness is “broken”. For example, falling in love fills a person with euphoria, elation, during this period, any business turns out. With bipolar or manic depressive psychosis, the mood swings appear to be out of the ordinary and do not correspond to the actual circumstances. The manifestations of the disease range from deep depression to deep states of mania.
Content:
- Symptoms of bipolar psychosis
- The reasons for the development of bipolar psychosis
- Treatment for bipolar psychosis
Symptoms of bipolar psychosis
The two-phase course of the disease proceeds in constant changes from depressive states to manic forms. Moreover, the frequency of depression prevails over manias. Symptoms of manic states are expressed in the unusual high spirits, high self-esteem, increased efficiency and reduced need for sleep. Insomnia occurs over time. The patient loses a sense of distance, pressure appears in speech.
The state of mania for a person resembles an inexhaustible source of energy, hence the boundless overestimation of vitality and the presence of risk in behavior. Problems of readaptation can begin when a person tries to show his behavior in an unconventional way, but the expected feeling of liberation in this case is not filled internally and aggravates the disease. The type of thinking changes - a person attributes all successes to himself, and blames others for failures.
Symptoms of depression include a state of despondency, complete indifference, a loss of interest in everyday things that previously pleased a person. Obsessive thoughts appear, the future is drawn in black. Sleep disturbances manifest themselves in different ways, either early awakening or an increased need to sleep. The patient experiences the power of his mood over him and believes that these differences cannot be adjusted from the outside. The phases of bipolar psychosis exhaust the patient himself and his close relatives.
The person loses control over the sense of time. Depression seems to him inevitable and eternal. There is a readaptation (compliance with other people's expectations in the process of socialization), a desire to please everyone, which takes the form of caricatured behavior. A depressive model of thinking significantly distorts the perception of others' and personal achievements, as a rule, the patient attributes defeat to his own account, and victories to others.
The reasons for the development of bipolar psychosis
This disease has its origins in hereditary constitutional factors, that is, it is inherited, but only to those who have suitable qualities related to the anatomical and physiological appearance, in other words, a suitable cyclothymic constitution. At this point in time, a direct relationship has been established between psychosis and impaired transmission of nerve impulses in some parts of the brain. Nerve impulses are responsible for the process of forming feelings, which are the main reactions of the psychic species. Bipolar psychosis in most cases develops in young people, while among the sick, women are much more.
Treatment for bipolar psychosis
During treatment, the influence of factors of a mental, somatic and social nature is taken into account, therefore, treatment is an integrated approach in the fight against psychosis. The therapist prescribes medications that work to correct physical ailments. The psychotherapist prescribes medication to regulate mental behavior. The main role is assigned to psychological rehabilitation, which is carried out by psychologists individually or in groups.
Psychological methods of treatment inspire the patient with confidence in a positive outcome of the disease, return a sense of time, and adapt to a normal state. The main task of treatment, both symptomatic and long-term psychological, is to prevent the emergence of new grievances and help in experiencing old ones, as well as disclosing and directing the body's internal forces for treatment, strengthening family relations, and developing stable social ties.
The treatment process should set the patient up for the ability to regulate his own actions. Discussions in rehabilitation groups, where more "experienced" patients participate and there is an opportunity to evaluate their behavior from the outside, can become very effective. Close relatives of the patient are necessarily involved in the psychological treatment of bipolar psychoses for the therapeutic benefit of the patient.
Article author: Mochalov Pavel Alexandrovich | d. m. n. therapist
Education: Moscow Medical Institute. IM Sechenov, specialty - "General Medicine" in 1991, in 1993 "Occupational Diseases", in 1996 "Therapy".
