Introduction
Bipolar disorder is a psychiatric disorder that cause extreme mood swings from maniac to depression. It could severely affect the normal life of the affected person. There are well-established treatment procedures for this illness. But most of the medicines are having major side effects and none of the medicines offer a life long cure. Since the medicines are to be taken throughout the lifetime it would be difficult for the patients to use medicines with such side effects.
In ayurveda herbal preparations are used as medicines, which are not having side effects. These medicines could be used lifetime and all other medications could be gradually withdrawn. The treatment in ayurveda is given not only for the symptoms but also for the actual disease. It could be possible to get a complete cure also by ayurvedic treatment. Before starting the actual treatment the entire body systems would be cleansed and detoxified by pancha karma. This would increase the response to medicines. Some of the medicines for bipolar disorder are brahmi, jatamamsi and vacha. Depression itself is categorized as vata, pitha and kapha and separate treatment procedures are used to treat these different types of depression. Ayurvedic diet and lifestyle also has to be followed for better results.
Thus ayurvedic treatment would be given for disease and not for symptoms alone. The medicines are herbal preparations, which do not have side effects. After the body is cleansed completely with pancha karma, the treatment would be given and diet and lifestyle could also be changed as per ayurvedic concept so as to have the best relief for bipolar disorder.
Facts
Bipolar disorder is also called mood disorder characterized by extreme mood swings. A person having this disorder would be having moods of extreme happiness to extreme sadness. The disease is called bipolar disorder since the mood of such people changes between two opposite poles of happiness and sadness. It could be caused by genetic as well as environmental reasons.
There are several facts regarding the bipolar disorder. It is characterized by change of mood from mania to depression and therefore it is also refereed as manic depression. Based on the studies by National Alliance on Mental Illness presently 1.2% of the US population are having this disorder (Bipolar Disorder: Fast Facts, 2008). It is considered as a major cause of disability in people around the world. The mood swings in bipolar disorder could lasts for weeks or months. It could follow a certain pattern in one person, which might be different in another person. The symptoms would be extreme or mild in each occurrence. However as the patient gets old there would be frequent occurrence. Symptoms of mania include hyperactivity, increased self-esteem, extreme happiness etc. The symptoms of depression include feeling of extreme sadness, helplessness, worthlessness, hopeless etc. During the manic stage the patient might involve in dangerous activities that could even kill him. During the depressive stage there would be thoughts as well as acts of suicide and they would turn to drugs or alcohol. Sometimes both these stage could occur together and then it is called mixed state. It would start at the age of about 21 years and become evident when the patient is 25 to 40 years old (Bipolar Disorder Overview, 2008). The disease has to be properly diagnosed and life long treatment has to be taken to cure the disease.
So, bipolar disorder is a mental illness, which results in mood swing from extreme sadness to extreme happiness. Episodes of disorder could lasts for weeks or months. The exact reason for the disorder is not known. The disorder could lead to disability. Therefore it has to be diagnosed correctly and treatment should be given.
Myths
Bipolar disorder is a psychiatric illness, which results in extreme mood swings and interferes with the person’s ability to work. There are several myths about this disease, which are actually not true. A person who is learning about the disorder should know the myths also because otherwise there would be chances of misdirection.
Some of the myths are as follows: Most of the people would have mood swings. Therefore mood swings could not be considered as a disorder, just the person has to think positively and pull on. Low life style could cause the disorder. Drug abuse and alcoholism could lead to this disorder. Personal weakness and poor character could cause the disease. It is curable with medications only; exercises, diet control etc are not needed. It would be necessary to take medications until it is cured (The top ten myths about bipolar disorder, 2008). The medications could become a habit and affect person’s personality. It would not occur in children. The disorder is a part of aging process. Once bipolar disorder is diagnosed the person could not lead a normal life at all. Talk therapy do not have any effect on bipolar disorder. Such people should not have children. They would be unable to work or hold important positions in any organizations. They are dangerous and have to be handled carefully. It is difficult to handle people with this disorder (Bipolar Disorder: Myths and Facts, 2008). Such people would be always crazy or mad. Suicidal tendency is not associated with Bipolar disorder.
The myths about bipolar disorder are many and the myths given in the above paragraph are not true. These myths also have to be understood so as to have a deep insight into the disease
Causes
Bipolar disorder is a psychiatric illness, which causes mood swings in a person from mania to depression. It is also called mood disorder and manic depression. It could cause severe harm to the life of the patient. There are several explanations for the occurrence of bipolar disorder. Generally the causes could be divided into biological and environmental causes.
Among the biological causes the most important one is the genetic causes. Studies conducted in twins have shown that if one of the identical twins develops this disorder there is 80% chance for the other twin also to develop the disorder. But in the case of fraternal twins the chance is only 16% (What causes bipolar disorder, 2008). Another cause for the disorder is the level of neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine. If the level of these transmitters is high the manic mood would appear and when the level goes too low, depressive mood appear. An imbalance between these transmitters is also suggested as a reason. If the sensitivity of the nerve cell receptors changes, this also could lead o bipolar disorder. The environmental causes could be stress in the life of person and also unprecedented events such as death of a close relative, loss of job, an illness or drug use etc. These events could trigger the disorder and then psychological and biological processes would become active and the cycle would continue. One thing that must be kept in the mind is that mood swings could be caused by several other reasons as well like, brain tumor, HIV, thyroid disorder etc (Bipolar disorder Causes, 2008). Therefore proper diagnosis is necessary before going to treatment procedures.
Thus it could be seen that bipolar disorder could be caused by genetic and environmental causes. Even now the exact reason is not known and therefore further research is required to come out with a solid reason for this disorder.
Bipolar Vision- Allopathic approach
Bipolar disorder is a mental disease, which causes extreme mood swings. It is a disease caused by problems in brain and could be treated. Since it is a life long disease, the treatment also should continue life long. The treatment is a combination of medicines and psychiatric therapy.
Talk therapy has been found to have positive results in the treatment of bipolar disorder. This consists of educating the patient to adopt some changes in their lifestyle so that occurrence of mood swings could be avoided to some extent. Family therapy is given to family members so that the onset of the disorder could be identified easily and proper medications could be given. Several types of medicines are available to treat this disorder. Lithium and valproic acid are mood stabilizers, which could prevent the onset of mood change. Eskalith and lithobid are used to prevent manic episodes. These medicines would reduce the abnormal activity of the brain. These would work better in people with more manic episodes than depressive episodes. However it could also be combined with anti depressants so as to prevent depressive episodes as well. Antipsychotic drugs are given in the initial stages so that lithium drugs could work effectively. The treatment could last for weeks or months to bring a control over the maniac stage. Depakote, depakene etc are valproic acid medicines, which are anticonvulsive. Acute manic episodes as well as mixed state are treated with these medicines. Lamictal is used to increase the time gap between two episodes. All these medicines are having side effects such as drowsiness, weight gain etc. These medicines are to be taken for at least six weeks for complete effect. Electro convulsive therapy would have to be adopted in extreme cases where the disorder could not be brought under control by medications.
Bipolar disorder although is a life long disease, a person with this disorder could lead a normal life by taking proper medications and adopting a regular life style and also by keeping well informed about the disease. If he is surrounded people who are well informed about the disease onset of mood could identify swings early and problems could be avoided.
Bipolar disorder-Homeopathic concept
Bipolar disorder is a mental illness, which results in extreme mood swings that could affect the normal life of a person if left unchecked. Although these are several medicines and psychotherapies for this disorder, most of these are having severe side effects and most of the bipolar patients would not like to use or adopt it. Homoeopathy would provide the medicines, which are harmless and could be safely used by patients.
In homoeopathy, the ability of the body systems to cure any disorder is relied upon for the treatment of all the diseases. It is believed that the same substance, which actually causes the disease, could be given as medicine in lower doses, so that the body’s natural defense system could be stimulated. The substances given as medicines are derived from plants, animals etc. Therefore it is absolutely safe to use. These medicines are given in very minute quantities and therefore would not interfere with any other medication taken by the patient. Therefore a bipolar disorder patient could switch on to homoeopathy while using the other medications and after getting sufficient improvement, he could slowly stop the unsafe medications. Lithium bromatum is a homeopathic medicine that could control this disorder like other lithium compounds, but without side effects. Since these medicines are not very popular in several countries, which suffer greatly from bipolar disorder, a success history could not be quoted. But definitely it would be a less complex treatment style for bipolar disorder.
In homeopathy, the actual substance that cause the disease would be given in minute quantities to stimulate the immune responses so that, the diseases are cured by body’s natural defense system itself. These compounds are organic and safe to use. There are medicines for bipolar disorder in homeopathy and therefore homeopathic treatment would be a good choice for a bipolar patient who is fed up of modern treatment procedures.
Ayurvedic Treatment of Bipolar Vision
Bipolar disorder is a mental illness, which results in extreme mood swings. Once it occur the disease is lifelong and therefore the treatment also has to be taken lifelong. One of the most important disadvantages of the modern medicines for this treatment is that they are having severe side effects, which affects other systems of the body as well. Therefore most of the patients are in search of treatment procedures, which are less problematic. Ayurvedic treatment, which has its origin in India, is one such treatment procedure.
In ayurvedic treatment, the treatment would be given both for the disease as well as for the symptoms. The ayurvedic medicines are herbal preparations, which do not have any side effects. The entire body systems would be cleansed before treatment using pancha karma therapies. This would increase the effect of medicines on the body. The depression itself is categorized as vata, pitha and kapha and separate medicines are given. Some of the medicines given include brahmi. jatamamsi and vacha. Apart from this herbal oil messages are given to keep the patients relaxed, warm and active. This treatment would be complete if the patient follows the life style and diet prescribed by the ayurvedic practitioner. The diet is purely vegetarian and include whole grains, vegetables cooked with spices, nuts etc. Cinnamon, cumin, Anise, ginger, nutmeg, sesame, etc have antidepressant effects. Ayurveda lifestyle include a routine lifestyle which is early to start and comprise of oil massage before bath, meditation, mild exercises, spending leisure time with loved ones etc.
Ayurveda has treatment for bipolar disorder, which could be followed much easier than the modern treatment procedures. A bipolar patient suffering from side effects of modern medicines could try the herbal preparations of ayurveda, which would actually provide relaxation and health to the patient. The treatment would be complete only if the patient follows the ayurvedic diet and the lifestyle as well.
Emerging Trends in the Treatment of Bipolar Vision
Bipolar disorder causes mood swing in people from extreme state of happiness and self esteem to a stage to extreme sadness and hopelessness. It could be treated by several means and the modern treatment consists of a combination of medications and psychotherapy and electro convulsive therapy in severe cases. In recent years new treatment procedures and medicines have been evolved.
Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD) is a study program that is been carried out in United States in order to identify the best treatment strategy for bipolar disorder. Phototherapy by giving bright light and dawn simulation has been found effective to reduce mood swings. Magnetic therapy is another trend in treating this disease. Echo planar magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (EP-MRSI) and, Transcranial magnetic stimulation are included in this. Effective treatment strategies have been observed in Ayurveda and Homoeopathy also, which are having fewer side effects compared to other treatments. Still another trend is practising Yoga as a treatment therapy for bipolar disorder. Studies have proved that all these alternative forms of treatments have given positive results in treating this disorder.
Bipolar disorder is a disease, which require life long medication. Therefore use of drugs, which are having side effects, would be difficult for most patients. This has lead to research in all the branches of medicines to find out a medicine or a treatment procedure, which is could reduce the use of drugs such as lithium and valproic acid. New treatment trends have been emerged as a result of this research and these could make the life of a bipolar disorder patient simpler.
Yoga for treating bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder is a devastating mental illness, which causes extreme mood swings, from euphoric happiness to severe sadness. Although it could be treated with a lot of medicines and psychotherapy, none have given a good result and it is well known that once a bipolar disorder patient, always a patient and medications also would be life long. Most of these medicines have side effects also, making the life of such patients intolerable. However, recent studies and experiences by patients themselves have proved that yoga could nearly cure the disease.
Yoga is well known for reducing anxiety and stress in people who regularly practice it. Hatha yoga is done to treat bipolar disorder. There are different pranayamas in it, which is actually breathing in different rhythms. By doing this, energy would be moved from places where anger and sadness are stored and mood would be improved. Sudharsankriya is a type of pranayama, which has given almost 73% cure for people suffering from bipolar disorder (Weintraub, 2007). It is known in United States by the name “The healing breath technique”. It is just normal breathing, keeping the mouth closed and nose opened in three different rhythms. The ability of this pranayama to cure bipolar disorder was identified by the research conducted in National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience in India. The patients of bipolar disorder who are practicing yoga are leading a normal life with just a mild normal medication. Most of them are happy to guide other patients who are suffering from bipolar disorder in to this practice which require only few minutes per day but could give a life back (McManamy, 2008).
Thus it could be seen that yoga has tremendous potential in treating bipolar disorder. Regular practice could bring a normal life to a bipolar patient with very less effort and almost nil medications.
Treatment costs for bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder is a psychiatric problem that results in abrupt change of moods from highest levels of happiness to highest levels of sadness accompanied by hallucinations. This disorder could seriously hamper the normal life of an individual. Once it occurs, the treatment would be life long, since it cycles throughout the lifetime. The treatment is usually by medicines such as selective seratonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), tricyclic antidpressants etc. There are other treatment procedures also like ayurveda, homoeopathy, yoga, acupuncture, etc.
Studies conducted in Norway, Denmark, Sweden etc have revealed that whenever there is a price hike for the medicines for bipolar disorder the suicidal rate would increase enormously (Antidepressants: Impacts on suicidal rates and cost effectiveness, 2006). Therefore it could be understood that treatment costs is a big problem for most of the bipolar patients especially since it has to be taken life long even when they are aged or disabled. Still another study conducted revealed that although taking the medicines alone is cost effective, a normal life could be achieved only with psychotherapy in combination with medications and this would be still costly (Gutierrez-Recacha, et al., 2006). However the treatment procedures in ayurveda, homoeopathy, yoga etc could be followed without much expenditure but at the same time with better results. Treatments in countries like India would be cheaper for citizens of the developed countries.
Treatment costs would be an important headache for people suffering from bipolar disorder, since they have to take medicines, undergo therapy etc throughout their lifetime. Cheap treatment procedures such as yoga or homeopathy or ayurveda would be an alternative to reduce the costs. They could visit countries where treatments are cheaper like India, identify a good doctor and this could also serve to reduce the costs.
Treatment costs vs facilities in different countries for bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness, which require life long treatment. The drugs these patients have to take include selective seratonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), tricyclic antidepressants etc, which are not very cheap. In extreme cases hospitalization also might be required. Therefore it would always be beneficial to compare the treatment costs and the facilities available in different countries.
In developed countries like United States and UK there are some hospitals, which have specialized bipolar treatment departments. In all the other countries, it would be treated as just any other psychiatric disease. But the diagnosis made here might not be correct, since there are many other diseases, which has almost the same symptoms as the bipolar disorder. Moreover even an experienced doctor would have to take several trials before arriving at a particular combination of medicines as well as therapies for the welfare of the patient. Therefore it would always be beneficial to go to a psychiatrist who is specialized in treating bipolar disease for the treatment, whatever might be the cost. Treatment facility as such is required only in extreme cases when the situation becomes uncontrollable. At this time also a hospital with particular treatment facility would be ideal. Bipolar disease could also be treated by alternative treatment procedures like Ayurveda, Homoeopathy, Acupuncture, Yoga etc. These treatments would be cheaper and more tolerable for the patients. In India most of the medicines are cheaper and India is promoting medical tourism also. So such patients could visit India, take appropriate treatment procedures according to their choice identify a good doctor and then could continue the treatment from their country of origin. This would be better for patients who would find it difficult to afford costly medicines of bipolar disorder.
So, Bipolar disorder treatment facility as such are available only in some selected hospitals in UK. Cost of most of the medicines and therapies are also high. In developing countries, the costs might be lesser, especially in India, China etc, where facilities would also be cheaper.
