Typically, the disorder is discovered in the teen stage. Often, it is not discovered until it reaches a very extreme point, because with teenage hormones it looks like typical mood swings. For example, a sign of bipolar disorder is paranoia. But this can come across as just being self conscious. In Nicole Cabezas’ case, she “began to suspect that her friends were using her, but that was understandable” (Song, 2002, para 12). In many cases, it looks like typical teenage worries. It was only once Nicole’s paranoia got much worse, claiming she was being followed, that her mother got extremely worried. Bipolar disorder can appear in the early childhood or even as late as age fifty, but diagnosis in children “far outpaces the increase in diagnosis …show more content…
But, there are numerous ways to manage it. The most common types of treatment are medication and behavioral treatment. Typically, doctors recommend and patients choose a combination of both. There are three types of medication that are typically prescribed: mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and sometimes antidepressants (Carey, 2002, para 1-4). Behavioral treatment involves one on one work with a therapist, which is good because theh the therapist can really get to know the patient and help them in the most effective way, as opposed to group therapy. Group therapy can be very effective for patients, but it might not be as personal or in touch for the therapists. Antipsychotics are targeted at depressive stages; the help reduce depression and suicide risk. Mood stabilizers are targeted more towards the mania part. These medications prevent the bipolar patient from getting too excited and going into a mania stage. Also, an exciting or upsetting event happens, it can trigger a mania or depressive stage. This is why they need a routine; so that the events in their life are not too up and down. Also, when life is going good, people with bipolar may be inclined to stop taking meds. This is why they need a support system to ensure that they take care of